


Shifting Lives

by MatchstickQ



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Mythology, Cute Eren Yeager, Eren Yeager Has Heterochromia Iridis, Eren Yeager is a metaphorical ray of sunshine, Eren is temporarily mute, Erwin is a Manipulation Grandmother, Flower Language and Symbolism, Grisha Yeager's Bad Parenting, Hange can be a good friend if they try, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'll update tags as I go I guess, It's a funky little mix of Celtic-French-English- and whatever other elements I feel like, Levi is a literal ray of sunshine, Like its pretty close to canon but i fucked with shit, M/M, Protective Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Realizations Of Feelings, Riots, Shapeshifter Eren Yeager, Slow Burn, Soft Eren Yeager, The Wall Cult sucks, They/Them Pronouns for Hange Zoë, also going to be super gay, altered ages because why not!, alternate universe/canon divergence, and not just into a titan, but they're also very badass, cant say too much without spoilers, do you like reading Levi be oblivious and have gay panic?, if so this is the story for you, kind of, lots of hurt/comfort, mentions of past trauma, no seriously he can glow but he's not happy about it, oh! and magic!, or at least i hope so I have shit pacing, pressure points used questionably, soft Levi, sorry for the shitty translating job, theres going to be fighting i mean duh look at which fandom this is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:52:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 147,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28106571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MatchstickQ/pseuds/MatchstickQ
Summary: Levi gets lost and hurt on one of Hange's stupid research missions. Eren, who has lived in the ruins of Shinganshina for the past 5 years, finds him and patches him up. He also turns into various animals. Shit happens.(I'm sorry, I know I'm shit at summaries, but its my first time attempting to write something without the threat of it going up in flames. It's also going to be VERY self indulgent and probably a little silly, but hey ive got to practice somehow.)
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 96
Kudos: 355





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! It's cool that you clicked on this story or whatever.  
> This fic started out as an idea i had before passing out. I got my friend on board to be a proofreader, and now we're here. I apologize in advance if its messy or something. Like I said in the summary, the only other times i tried to write like this I crashed and burned. Also I don't really have a clear idea of a schedule, so I'm sorry if I'm inconsistent.

Levi never really liked the water.

He wasn’t scared of it, in fact he’d slit your throat for suggesting so, but he didn’t trust anything he couldn’t properly see into. Who knows what could be lurking beneath the surface Plus, with water came sand, or mud, and he preferred to keep those as far away from him as possible.

This healthy level of distrust, however, was quickly growing as he approached one of the biggest lakes within what used to be Wall Maria.

“It’ll be fine Leviiiii, we just need Hange to test some things, it’s a quick little field trip,” he muttered to himself, keeping his senses alert in case a Titan decided to show up out of the trees around him, “Fucking Erwin and his shitty planning.” 

Eventually, his horse managed to get him to the glittering shore of what he thought would be a much bigger lake. It was actually almost disappointing to see. He looked around for a moment, squinting his eyes to barely make out the other shore. There was no sign of any other Scouts anywhere, or any human for that matter.

“Well fuck,” he groaned, “this is just fucking wonderful, now isn’t it?”

Sighing, he pulled out his map from Amelie’s saddlebags, and traced the path that he was supposed to be on, if it wasn’t for Erwin’s half-baked idea of a “solo mission”. Now, he had gone and been separated from everyone else, and the final meeting spot was marked as the wrong fucking lake.

Normally, he would just send off an emergency flare to let the others know his location and wait for them to come get him. Alternately, he would figure out the actual meeting spot and ride there overnight, but he was absolutely exhausted from the stress of the expedition, not to mention the fact that he would be alone in a dark forest with potential titans everywhere.

Unfortunately, that left him with one option, and it was one that he absolutely hated. 

“Guess we’re making camp, Amelie,” he sighed, stroking said horse’s neck.

She let out an unhappy whinny at that, and Levi wished he could speak horse to agree with her.

Seeing as the sunlight was already fading, he hurried to find a place that wouldn’t be easily accessible to a titan. Sure, he knew that they generally weren’t active at night, but in his line of work people had been killed for assuming less.

With that in mind, he chose a spot relatively close to the water, hating the fact that the soil was less like dirt and more like mud. His nose wrinkled at the thought of sleeping, or at least resting, anywhere near ground with such a high water content. However, the tight bundle of trees around it offered fairly good protection, so it would have to do.

Silently vowing to take the world’s longest bath when he returned to headquarters, he set up a small shelter of sticks laid carefully around the little copse that was now his temporary camp. Some moss and somewhat soft leaves were mixed in for good measure, because there was no way that Levi would sleep on the bare ground, no matter the reason.

With everything all set up, he laid back in his makeshift bed (which was really more of an elaborate leaf pile) and stared up at what bits of sky he could see through the tree branches. It was always a little bit fascinating to him that there were so many more stars visible outside the walls, and if he wasn’t so pissed at his situation, he might have actually enjoyed it a bit.

The relative peace didn’t last long, and Levi blamed it on the fact that he had terrible luck in life. His senses kicked into high alert the second he heard the birdsong stop, and he silently shifted into a crouching position within his (definitely not a leaf pile) bed. 

Peering out of his hastily-made stick wall, he watched an absolutely massive stag come out of the trees, at least a person and a half tall, and only about ten meters in front of him. 

‘The fucking birds stopped for a deer?’ he thought, still watching said animal suspiciously.

It seemed rather wary of its surroundings, stepping with an eerie sense of caution towards the shore. To Levi, it was almost funny how such a big creature was so quiet and careful.

Unfortunately, Amelie started to knicker fearfully and stamp her hooves, a clear sense of anxiety emanating from the horse. This, of course, spooked the fuck out of the stag, and Levi almost jumped when it charged into the water, wading neck deep into the shallows of the lake.

The Scout captain continued to watch curiously as the deer suddenly stilled. It looked up, vaguely in the direction of the moon, before pausing again, looking like a statue bathed in moonlight.

Everything was silent for a moment, especially since Levi was holding his breath. His nearly pounding heartbeat would have been too loud in the eerily calm forest, if not for the small waves lapping at the shore, a rhythmic 'woosh-woosh-woooshhh' that was almost deafening in contrast.

It was wayyyyyy too quiet and still for how a forest should be.

Then, for a brief second, a prickly energy filled the air, setting every nerve in Levi’s body on edge. A golden-ish light flashed, temporarily blinding him. It was accompanied by a short wave of warmth, which left the breeze feeling colder than ever.

Blinking, the captain regained his eyesight, only to see that the stag had disappeared without a trace. His eyes swept the shore for any trace of tracks, but there were none to be found.

“That,” he whispered to himself, letting out a slightly shaky breath, “was fucking weird.”

Mysterious encounter still in his mind, he decided that there was no way in hell that he was going to be able to even think about sleep. Instead, he tried to shift into a slightly less painful sitting position, but the leaves that he had so carefully collected had other ideas, because when he moved one leg out from under him to reposition his weight, he had forgotten that he was by no means on stable ground. 

Levi would not say he slipped. No, a captain of the Scout Regiment would never slip on a pile of leaves. Simply put, he made a tactical miscalculation of his center of gravity, and the traitorous floor gave out from under him. This…error…. led to him falling backwards at a high speed and hitting his head on the base of his makeshift shelter.

(Truthfully, he fell on his ass and gave himself a concussion on a tree, then passed out because of it.)  
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

To say that Levi was confused when he woke up was an understatement. 

For one thing, his head felt like Hange had tied him down and forced him to listen to a rant for over 6 hours. Additionally, he was draped over a tree branch over 15 meters in the air. The latter was the much more concerning bit, especially because the last thing he remembered was a deer and a lake, but even that was hazy. 

He sat up, swaying slightly, and had to grip the bark of the branch for support.

“Where the fuck am I?” he said out loud, forgetting to keep the words inside of his head. “How in the….. why the fuck……huh??”

For some reason, his first coherent thought that wasn’t sheer and utter confusion was ‘shit, where’s Amelie?’. He looked around frantically for his horse, which brought his attention to a bigger and much more immediate problem.

There was a group of titans heading in his general direction, and one of them was definitely tall enough to reach his branch.

Strangely though, they didn’t seem to have the mindless, glazed-eye, ‘oh wow a tasty human’, look about them. In fact, his slowly processing brain would say that they were almost…scared. Like they were running from something.

However, since logic wasn’t currently high on his list of priorities, instinct took over. His fingers reached for his ODM gear, only to realize that the gas tanks had been punctured by something, rendering him essentially helpless.

A knot of fear wormed its way into the pit of his stomach, accompanied by a chilling wave of dread. He watched, mildly terrified as the titans got closer and closer to the edge of the forest.

With his back to the tree, he waited for his coming attackers. There really wasn’t much for him to do about it. Sure, he might be able to kill the taller one with his blades, but that was only if he had the presence of mind to do it right. Also, even if he did manage to pull that off, the smaller titans would just wait until he inevitably passed out, then shake the tree to make him fall into one of their waiting mouths.

Suddenly, he saw something blur out of the corner of his eye, streaking towards the titans. The wind from the movement nearly knocked Levi out of the tree, and probably would have if not for his death-grip on the trunk behind him.

He barely had time to mumble “What in the everloving fuck…,” before the blur was on the titans, attacking the largest with an animalistic and savage force. He couldn’t really tell what the fuck it was, all he saw was violence caused by something big, fast, and brownish in colour.

The carnage was over in mere minutes, with steaming piles of remains left by what could now be clearly seen as a 15 meter titan.

Levi’s eyebrow’s furrowed together. He wasn’t the most mentally fit for anything at that moment, but as far as he could figure, titans generally did not attack other titans.

The bloodied 15-meter looked directly at Levi, and he could make out flashes of green eyes under the ragged mop of dark brown hair. His defensive instincts switched on as it started rushing towards him, and he grabbed his blades in anticipation.

This was, of course, a huge mistake.

Without his hands to hold on to the tree behind him, he was very, very off balance. Furthermore, when he hunched over in a defensive position, he forgot that the branch was in no way big enough to support his now spread apart feet.

So, for the second time in…however long it had been, Levi fell. He barely managed to let out a strangled gasp as the floor approached at an alarming rate.

The titan, however, was faster, so instead of his whole body going splat on the forest floor, his knee and ankle just popped out at weird angles as they connected with unnaturally hot flesh.

Once again, in an alarming pattern that he desperately hoped would not be repeating any time soon, Levi passed out.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

This time, there wasn’t a sudden awakening. No terror to jolt him into action. No imminent death to loom over him as he laid meters from the ground. No instinct, no need to fight.

What there was, however, was pain. Lots of it. So much fucking pain. Absolute shit tons of it.

Sure, Levi had grown accustomed to pain during his life. He would normally be able to handle something broken or dislocated. But now, it felt like everything under his waist was on fire, and a decent amount of his right side was unbearably warm.

If he had had the presence of mind to do so, he would have realized that it wasn’t actually hot, but that his nerves had simply overloaded from the sheer pain he felt.

There were a few moments where he seemed to wake up, but when he did, it was like a fever dream. Everything was agonizingly bright and loud. So, so loud. And windy. Why was it windy?

These snippets of consciousness were mostly brief, and the few longer ones that he did experience generally ended the moment his nerves managed to wake up fully and scream at him in a “what the fuck, fix this” manner. It wasn’t pleasant in the slightest.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It wasn’t until Levi felt a hand on his leg that he actually woke up. He was still in pain and very, very unclear about…well, wherever the fuck he was and how he got there, he sat up, probably way too fast.

Eyes still partially closed, (because fuck the light that was trying to drill into his eyelids) his arms flew out and connected with something warm and human-feeling, maybe someone’s chest. The potential person fell back and yelped, a sound that absolutely grated on Levi’s sensitive eardrums. He winced in surprise, before realizing that his throat was way too dry for speaking painlessly. 

He stopped moving, not sure whether to fight whatever had touched him, or to cradle what was hurting, which was pretty much everywhere. It occurred to him that it would probably be a lot easier to make the decision if he just opened his eyes, which he did. Slowly. And painfully. Did he mention it was bright and painful?

There was a boy sitting across from him, one arm half-blocking his face, and the other gripping…something behind him. Levi’s eyes weren’t really adjusted enough to see much farther than a yard or so.

He relaxed slightly, still looking at the strange person in front of him as he waited for his eyes to ease into the light. The boy appeared to have…feathers… around his face and shoulders, brownish and soft looking, but they were gone a few blinks later. Levi chalked it up to his half delirious mental state.

“The fuck are you,” he rasped, but his voice gave out halfway through the sentence, so it sounded more like “The fussshhhaahuuu”.

The other person tilted his head to the side, before looking at the captain’s horribly bruised and swollen joints. He leaned forward, putting his hand on his calf with an almost hesitant touch. His hands were really warm, and Levi’s muscles involuntarily relaxed at the radiating heat. It felt almost heavenly to have the tissue around his seemingly dislocated knee unstiffen and return slowly to a more normal size.

Unfortunately, the sudden bliss was replaced with a sharp pain as the warm hands popped his knee back into place. It was incredibly hard to keep down an agonized scream as sunspots danced around his vision, nearly blinding him again. His free leg kicked out reflexively, knocking the other person back.

The boy glared at Levi, rubbing his lower stomach where he had been kicked. The pair stared at each other for a second, unsure of how to proceed. 

Still pouting unhappily, the green-eyed person turned and pulled something from what the Scout now recognized as a carved-into tree. In fact, he was now noticing that he was sitting on an elaborately woven nest of living branches, high in the air. It would have been moderately amazing, under different circumstances, but seeing as his leg was throbbing and everything was sore, it was a lot less grandiose.

Levi turned his attention back to the boy, who was now turning back to face the captain, with something shiny in his hand. He offered it to the injured scout, who eyed it suspiciously before taking it.

The ‘it’ in question turned out to be a metal container filled with water. Normally, Levi would have questioned if the water given to him by a random boy in the forest was even safe to drink, but he was extremely dehydrated and didn’t yet have the brain cells to spare. So, when his body said “drink”, he listened.

After draining half of the container, he paused for oxygen, inspecting the weirdly smooth and cylindrical cup-thing. He was fully aware of the other person was watching him with an intense curiosity as he twisted and turned it, running mildly shaky fingers over the dents. His eyes stopped and his breath caught as he saw the inscription on the bottom edge. It was faded and barely noticeable, but he managed to make out what it said. 

“SC dash H09 dash Q10,” he whispered, still not daring to use his vocal cords. 

His eyes snapped up to the boy who was still watching him with an unreadable expression.

“That’s a Scout Registry number.”

The implications of that ran through Levi’s mind, finally activating the more logical part of his brain. Was this…kid…a Scout that had been left outside Wall Rose? Did he somehow, miraculously, manage to survive the 5 years between the Fall of Maria and the present day? Had he killed a Scout and looted the body? Or had he just found one of the leftover depleted tanks that littered various parts of the forest? The last one seemed the most likely, but there was still the question of how this kid was even alive outside of the Walls in the first place. Surely someone trapped without ODM gear, or even any weapons for that matter, wouldn’t last more than a week.

A hand tapped the top of the captain’s head, causing him to flinch involuntarily. He looked up at the boy, who was now standing above him. Levi hadn’t even noticed the movement, seeing as he was too engrossed in his own thoughts. 

Miracle-boy gave him… was that a paper he was holding? With charcoal scribbles? The Scout accepted it, and read the loopy, messy scrawl, which spelled out ‘Found it. Found you, too. Sorry about your leg. Had to be put back.’

“Can’t you speak?” Levi whispered, meeting the silent eyes that watched him.

The boy grimaced slightly, then opened his mouth. Words didn’t come out, and instead he made some kind of sounds that most humans couldn’t even try to imitate. It was as if nature had a language, and this person had mastered it. He only ‘spoke’ for a few seconds, but the captain could hear distinct bird calls, horse whinnies, and a few of the larger predator sounds. Hell, there were some noises from things he didn’t even recognize, like whistling-whirring-clicking sounds and low hums that barely registered in his ears.

One of his hands went up to the bridge of his nose on reflex, pinching the pressure point there while sighing. It was an expression he often used when Hange was being intolerable. The other person just huffed in frustration before sitting down, clearly unhappy with both himself and the Scout.

Taking another swig of water, Levi finally managed to activate his vocal cords, and promptly began asking as many questions as he could think of, channeling the influence that Shitty Glasses had had on him over the years. The brunette wrote down replies on a worn notebook, but it was mostly ‘I don’t know’, ‘can’t remember’, or the one that the captain disliked the most, ‘I can’t tell you’.

He did find out, however, that the boy had lived outside the walls for as long as he could remember, which wasn’t much, and that his name was Eren. Actually, his exact words were ‘I think that I have some memory of the name Eren, and it might be mine.’ Either way, it was better than calling him ‘Miracle-Boy’, so it would have to do.

Apparently, the boy, no, Eren, had found him passed out on the forest floor at night while looking for food, and brought him to the tree-nest thing. It had been about three days since then, so anywhere between four days and a week since he had lost the Scouts. He had also found Amelie, who was now roaming around under them, at the base of the trees, which sent a mild relief through Levi. After all, she was a pretty good horse, and it would have been a shame if she had run off, especially since she had all of his supplies. 

In fact, if not for his injury, he would have thought that the titan fight that he had witnessed was a concussion fever dream. Eren shook his head vehemently when he asked about any weird titan activity. The captain decided not to push the subject.

Eventually, after a page and a half of answered questions, Levi was satisfied, much to Eren’s visible relief. Said boy rubbed his hand, pouting slightly as he tried to get rid of the cramp building in his wrist. 

Halfway through flexing his fingers uncomfortably, he looked over at the captain, obviously thinking about something. The scout, of course, glared right back, and continued to watch as he grabbed the notebook and pencil again.

‘Aren’t you hungry? I feel like you should be, considering all the healing and stuff you’ve been doing. Also, you kind of look like shit.’

“Hey!” Levi yelped after reading the last sentence. Even with damaged vocal cords, his pride was still worth defending.

Eren’s face lit up in a shit-eating grin that proved that although his human contact had been extremely limited, he could still show an impressive amount of emotion. (Plus, it wasn’t like Levi could judge him, seeing as his own social skills were practically non-existent.) 

The scout rolled his eyes dramatically as the smirking asshole stood up and walked over to the edge of the tree-shelter-woven-thingy. Whatever, ‘nest’ was an easier and more accurate description anyways.

“Um, the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Levi asked, raising his eyebrows in concern as Eren stepped onto the top of the low wall.

Still grinning, the brunette turned so he was once again facing the captain. He then proceeded to fall backward with his arms out, eliciting a screech of “WHAT THE FUCK?!?” from the newly terrified Levi.

Horrified, he waited for the sound that should have followed. It never came.

Instead, a bird flew up about 5 meters from the nest, a rather big, reddish-brown falcon with wicked sharp talons and an impressive wingspan. It let out a victorious trill before diving out of sight with nearly mind-boggling speed, leaving the Scout alone once more.

Levi sat in stunned shock as his brain attempted to process what in the fresh hell had just happened. It took him a solid two minutes to come up with three possibilities. Hange would be disappointed if they were there.

Option A was that Eren was somehow a fucking bird. Or maybe the bird was Eren. Whatever, it didn’t matter.

Option B was that Eren was some sort of God or something. Levi had never been a religious man, nor did he plan to be, especially with his disdain for the Wall cult, but he figured that if Humanity had made countless stories about higher powers, then at least one of them had to be partially right. Or, perhaps they were all correct. Hell, maybe none of them were true, but whatever the fuck Eren had just done was convincing him otherwise.

The third and final option was that somehow Levi had imagined this whole thing. Maybe he would wake up in his bunk back at HQ. Maybe Eren had drugged his water somehow and was now laughing at his expense. Unfortunately, the fact that he still had a deep ache in his right leg pretty much cancelled that option out.

Levi felt a headache coming on, and this time it had nothing to do with concussions. He groaned loudly, now to no one in particular, and realized that he sort of-kinda-almost missed Eren’s presence. Of course, the Captain of the Scouts, Humanity’s Strongest, and the ex-King of the Underground didn’t get lonely, much less scared, but it was definitely…unsettling… to be this high up with no other life around him. 

So, with his combined restlessness and inability to move without pain, he looked around, trying to memorize the place to describe to Hange and Erwin if he got back. Surely, they’d be just fascinated to know how the hell he survived in titan territory for however long he was out there. Or Hange would be, at least. Eyebrows would probably just complain that he hadn’t followed through with his mission, and probably make fun of him for getting lost in the first place. 

“Not if I get back,” he reminded himself, muttering under his breath, “when.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are you all ready for feelings?? I sure hope you are, because this chapter has lots of them! Hope you like it, and thanks for all the support so far!!!!
> 
> (This is unimportant but I'm really sorry if my grip on metric measurement isn't that good. I'm trying to find things to equate it with, but its probably going to take a while, since i grew up with Imperial, oof)
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> \- cussing, I mean its Levi, come on
> 
> -mentions of blood/injury, nothing super bad though
> 
> \- descriptions of pain, theyre not like essays about agony, but it is mentioned a lot

Eren returned as the sun was setting, casually landing inside the nest and dropping off a cooked rabbit (plus a shit ton of fruit) as if it were the most normal thing ever. Levi glared at him, a mixture of anger and curiosity in his eyes as the bird-boy went still for an unsettling moment.

A familiar prickly energy filled the air for a millisecond, followed by a short burst of light and heat, and then Eren was crouching before him, shedding the fluffy jacket he had been wearing previously.

“You better fucking explain yourself, brat,” Levi said, but his heart wasn’t in the insult, not when he felt more confused and hungry than anything else.

The brat in question shrugged and shook his head, then looked between the food and Levi. He could practically hear the ‘are you gonna eat any of that or do I get it all?’ .

The Scout grumbled something about birdbrains and fire, before taking part of the rabbit, (which nearly scorched his fingertips off) as well as some of the more edible looking fruits. He would have preferred being able to eat with a plate and silverware like a proper human, but nothing about his situation was proper, or normal for that matter. All things considered, his position was a pretty fucking weird one.

The pair ate in relative silence, but the sheer satisfaction and pride radiating off of Eren said more than enough. The smug brat was quite clearly pleased in his cooking and hunting skills. Levi wondered how the fuck he had managed to find actual fucking salt, or even light a fire for that matter. He decided not to think about it, because he was sure that it would lead to another headache.

After they had both finished and the sun had fully set, the captain realized that he was now both full and relatively hydrated, two things he thought he’d never achieve outside of the Walls. At this rate, he might even manage good sleep, seeing as there was no way a titan big enough to reach the nest would be able move in the dark.

Unfortunately, his back was fucking killing him, because between his cockeyed, slouchy sitting position and the hard branches that supported him, his spine was not happy with him in the slightest. So, naturally, he looked for something soft to lay on, and the first thing he saw was Eren’s extremely fluffy looking jacket.

He reached for it instinctively, mostly because he was actually, genuinely, tired for once in his life, only to be met with a terrified screech and a shove backwards.

“Oi birdbrain, what the fuck?!” he half yelled, startled by the sudden outburst.

Eren gaped at him like he had killed a family member or something, then pouted and slid the jacket back on with a defiant shake of his head.

“Brat,” Levi muttered, before sighing and trying to find a comfortable position on his own.

The brunette, however, had a different idea, and instead shuffled over to sit next to the Scout, on his non-injured side of course. He raised an eyebrow at the suddenly close boy, who just chirped or trilled or something in response. Sighing, he leaned back, before realizing that the air around Eren was really fucking warm.

”Holy shit,” he said, completely forgetting his petty anger, ”you’re a fucking space heater. Get your ass over here.”

The newly dubbed heat pack scooted closer, grinning triumphantly. Levi rolled his eyes, but still leaned to the side so that he was draped over the other boy’s shoulders as much as possible. He let out a small hum of contentment at the very warm and very soft bed that he had just gained, which made Eren’s chest bounce slightly in some sort of silent laugh, and the captain was too comfortable to insult him for it.

And so, Levi, who hadn’t had a decent night of rest in practically his whole life, fell asleep in arms that felt like warm, cushy heaven.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The captain woke up far too cold. His bed had up and gone, which caused him a half moment of panic. He looked around frantically for a couple seconds, (not his proudest moment) before spotting the notebook on his lap.

‘Out to get some stuff,’ it read, ‘and I have something I want to show you later. Don’t move around too much, you’ll hurt yourself.’

He blinked his eyes and tried to get rid of the background headache that had decided to make itself known. It looked to be just past dawn, judging from the color of the light filtering through the canopy’s leaves, which meant he had soundly slept through the entire night. That fact was a bit surprising to him, but he waved it off.

Scanning the paper again, he rolled his eyes at the near condescension of the last sentence. Levi wasn’t stupid enough to walk around just yet, but he could at least move around the nest thing. Sure, it would be annoying to shuffle around like some sort of snake or weasel, but his leg could probably handle a little jostling.

He was, of course, incredibly wrong.

As he leaned over, planning to look at the curious little hollow space that seemed like it had books in it, his knee bent instinctively, and he nearly screamed from the shooting spikes of sheer agony that lanced up and down his leg. He had to grit his teeth as he pushed down on it, ensuring that it was once more laying flat on the branches, but with his foot resting now against his non-injured calf in a P-looking position.

While waiting for the pain to subside, he heard a trilling sound come up his left, and looked over to see a giant red-brown falcon land on the edge of the nest, head cocked to the side, clearly displeased.

“Oh fuck off, shithead,” he muttered, avoiding the bird’s piercing (and slightly unsettling) eyes.

The falcon let out a little series of screech-caw-chirps that Levi interpreted at laughter. He sighed dramatically in response, mildly annoyed that he was being made fun of by a literal fucking bird.

Accompanied by the apparently customary light show, the normal, human Eren popped back into existence, sitting casually on the little wall around the nest. His shoulders were still shaking slightly, and he made no attempts to hide his amused smile. Levi threw a small stick at him, which he caught easily, depriving the captain of the satisfaction that he should have gotten from hitting him. 

The unfairly reflexive boy jumped forwards, causing a mini heart attack for the Scout. 

“Can’t save you if you fall off, birdbrain,” he said, still sulking slightly from missing his throw.

He heard an impatient huff from above his head. Looking up, he realized that Eren was now towering above him with his arms crossed, and Levi was nearly jealous that he could just stand up like that without dying of pain. 

Suddenly, an evil looking grin spread over the upright boy’s face, mischief dancing in his green eyes. This was definitely not good news for the captain, and he glared upwards at the stupidly smirking face above him.

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop thinking it,” he muttered, trying to put some power into the order, but gave up and just added another “birdbrain,” for good measure.

Unfortunately, Levi’s half-threat only served to egg the other boy on, and the Scout watched in horror as he bent down and unceremoniously scooped him up, making sure to keep his leg immobilized as much as possible.

“Hey!” he screeched, clearly unhappy to be picked up like some sort of child. (Children were short, and Levi was NOT short, thank you very much.)

Eren only laughed, shoulders shaking slightly as he ducked under a flailing arm. He proceeded to walk calmly to the edge of the nest, making the captain panic as he looked down to see the long ass fall to the forest floor.

“Nonononono NO! Eren put me down right fucking now!!” 

He did not, in fact, put him down, and instead let out an absolutely manic sound before straight up jumping off of the fucking wall, screaming Levi in tow.

‘This is it,’ he thought, stomach turning as he plummeted, ‘this fucking brat is going to kill me. I’m going to die at the hands of a goddamned bird.’

However, just before he was sure he would become a puddle of goo on the ground, he felt a sharp tug on the straps of his ODM gear harness, which he had completely forgotten he was wearing. Thankfully, the adrenaline rush numbed any potential pain that would have normally occurred. Mind-numbing panic tends to have that effect on the human body. 

Falcon-Eren let out an eerily human-like whoop of glee as he dragged Levi upwards, pulling him through a clearing in the canopy. Leaves brushed against the captain’s pricelessly terrified face, pulled free from their branches by the sudden wind created by their passing.

They continued flying above the treetops for what felt like an eternity. It was a strange combination of exhilarating, breathtaking and downright fear-inducing. Part of him kept waiting for a fall that never came, but at the same time it was absolutely fascinating to see the world from this perspective. It was a literal bird’s eye view, and once he got over the initial anxiety, it was incredibly freeing. Of course, he would never admit to feeling anything but anger about being carried like this.

Eventually, Eren started gliding downwards, diving through another clearing in the canopy. Levi could just barely make out the distinct sound of waves hitting a shore, which meant that they were headed for a lake, possibly the same one that he had been to on the first night of this mess. He wondered if Amelie was nearby, along with his Scout cloak.

Unfortunately, neither of them had put much thought into how the fuck they could land without one or the other getting injured in the process. This was a fact that struck Levi slightly too late, and he braced for impact, hoping that he somehow wouldn’t hit his bad leg.

Once again, things didn’t go as he had expected. Instead, Birdbrain (Levi was now insisting that it was his real name, because it fit him way too well) had decided that it would be a simply brilliant idea to de-transform mid-flight, when they were still a good meter or three off the ground. This led to a lot of flailing and a moderate amount of screeching on both of their parts, before Eren finally managed to get himself under the Scout, clearly planning to act as a human cushion.

Somehow, by whatever type of miracle, probably just sheer dumb luck, it worked, and the pair nearly fell into the water before skidding to a stop just outside the shoreline. They both laid there for a moment, trying to get oxygen into their panicked lungs.

“You stupid fucking brat,” Levi gasped, still breathing rapidly, “What, pray tell, were you fucking thinking, shit for brains?”

The boy under him let out a wheezy sounding caw-growl noise, before slowly sitting up, forcing the captain to rise with him. He gently lifted him off of his legs, then placed him on the ground, still treating him like an injured kitten, and unfortunately there was no energy to spare for berating.

After checking over the breathless raven to ensure that he was (relatively) fine, Eren stood up. He let out a sharp whistle, the exact same one that Scouts used to call their horses. Levi never thought he would be so relieved to hear approaching hoof steps.

“Amelie,” he said, voice much stronger now that he had proper air in his lungs, “this fucking idiot is trying to kill me.”

The horse chuffed and licked his face, which he would normally hate, and he realized that there were not one, but two traitors with him. 

Laughing, (or whatever weird imitation he had figured out how to do) Eren walked over and put a hand on the horse’s neck, somehow managing to look like a smug bastard despite the mud now dirtying his cheeks. (Levi didn’t even want to consider how bad he himself looked)

He glanced down casually, acting as if he had just now realized that the Scout was there, and offered him a hand. Hesitating for a second, the captain wondered if his pride was really worth it. The answer to that was unfortunately yes, so he grabbed the extended hand by the wrist and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet. Or foot, actually, in this case, because all of his weight was shifted onto his left side to avoid putting pressure on his aching knee.

Eren gestured towards the pink, dawn-reflecting water questioningly. It was like he was asking something, but Levi sadly didn’t quite understand what he meant. Sighing in exasperation, he turned to his horse’s saddlebags and pulled out one of Hange’s “observational notebooks” that they made everyone carry for whatever reason. There was a mechanical pencil in there too, and he passed both of them to his right, where they were gladly accepted by waiting hands that immediately started writing.

Leaning on Amelie’s flank for support, he waited, listening to the scribbling of lead on paper. It was clear that Eren was in a bit of a rush, so when he passed the book back, his handwriting was messier than the day before. Levi’s gunmetal grey eyes looked over it, managing to work out the jumbled-together loops.

‘There were people with green cloaks here. They might have been looking for you. If not, then it doesn’t matter, I guess. I’ll avoid them if they come around again. Anyways, if you’re okay with a bit of cold, this is a decent lake to wash up in, especially after that landing. Titans shouldn’t be active for at least another 2 hours after the sun is fully up. Only if you think you can though, without hurting yourself more.’

He glared at the writer, debating whether to yell at him for letting the other Scouts leave or to smack him for thinking that he couldn’t even clean himself without nearly dying. Unfortunately, the boy was smiling at him, emerald eyes sparkling innocently, an expression that was often seen on children within the Walls. He looked almost like a regular, carefree person who didn’t have to worry about a single thing in life. 

Something snapped in Levi, and he ended up just giving him a light flick on the forehead before starting to slip off his ODM harness. There wasn’t a chance in hell that he would waste an opportunity to wash the grime and oil out of his hair, even if it meant using Eren as a human crutch, there for both physical support, balance, and a tiny bit of emotional regulation too, if he was being completely honest.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The pair emerged from the lake about a half hour after the sun had risen all the way over the horizon. Their underclothes were all completely soaked, because they had gotten into a splash war after Levi just so happened to “accidentally” nail Eren in the face with a wall of water. Of course, this only happened as a result of the brunette laughing because the captain had jumped when a tadpole touched him.

They decided with unspoken words that it would be better not to fly back, because they had neither a takeoff strategy nor a way to land safely. This meant that Levi would have to ride his horse back, something that his knee did NOT look forward to in the slightest. Similarly, Eren would have to follow him from the sky as a bird, or take his chances squishing with the other on Amelie. (Being that close would put him within hitting distance, so definitely not the best choice.)

The shifter, however, was seemingly just chock full of surprises, because it only took him a minute to come up with a third option: becoming a fucking deer.

Honestly, Levi had nearly forgotten about the weird encounter by the original lake, seeing as his memories of that night were little to none thanks to the concussion, so it was a bit surprising to him when there was suddenly a huge, auburn-coated stag that came to nearly eye level, especially since the Scout was already on his horse at the time.

“You just HAVE to outdo me, huh brat?” he sighed, signaling for Amelie to start trotting in the direction that they had crashed in from, “It’s too bad I don’t know any good deer insults, you antlered fuck. Can’t exactly call you ‘Birdbrain’ while you have a head that big.”

Deer-Eren (maybe Deeren would work, but it felt like too much of a stretch for even his humor) let out a snort before taking off at a canter-like speed into the trees, and Levi yelped when his horse sped up to match. He blamed it on the fact that the sudden change on pace jostled his hurt knee, which was a total lie.

The trip back seemed much longer than the flight there, which rationally made sense, but the captain was not the most comfortable with the idea of riding through a potentially titan-infested forest without his full ODM gear. In fact, he was almost starting to lose faith in his companion’s internal compass when they finally arrived, stopping directly in the roughly oval-shaped shadow that the nest cast in the early morning sun. 

Eren took a couple long strides backwards, and Levi braced for what he knew was about to happen, hand smoothing over his harness to make sure it was where he had attached it after leaving the lake. It was obviously still there, tightened to the exact right amount as a result of multiple years’ worth of practice. Sitting deathly still, he watched as the shifter ran towards him at full speed, before leaping upwards. He cleared at least two meters with that one jump, then promptly blinded his target with the bright light that accompanied the switch. 

Unfortunately, the captain still managed to somehow flinch right as Eren’s new talons hooked under his straps, and he felt a not-quite-shallow scratch burn its way into his shoulder. He winced as he was dragged upwards for the second time that morning, and was nearly thankful for the pain caused from his suddenly dangling leg. 

Birdbrain was clearly a lot less stupid with his landing idea the second time around, seeing as he had actually remembered to slow down before dropping the Scout, who thankfully only had to fall a few inches. The brunt of the impact was absorbed by his hands and arms, so overall it wasn’t too bad. He watched as falcon-Eren did a quick loop above the nest, probably just to slow down further before he landed. (He did so a bit ungraciously, which was a little concerning)

After he shifted back to his human form, it became pretty evident that something was wrong. Not only did he take way too long to sit up, but once he did, Levi immediately spotted the dark circles forming under his suddenly lackluster eyes. He raised an eyebrow in concern, but the shifter just shook his head, waving off the problem.

The captain shrugged, deciding not to press, and was suddenly and painfully reminded of the accidental scratch that he’d received. Eren’s gaze zeroed in on the small, red stain that was spreading from the minor injury, and he rushed over to it, pulling the collar on the standard uniform back to inspect it. Levi looked away, not particularly fond of seeing his own blood, but his head snapped back around when he felt slightly chapped, gentle, and incredibly warm lips pressed to the wound.

His brain went into absolute meltdown mode, because holy shit, there was an actual, real life person that was showing emotions that weren’t just tools to convince him to do things. It wasn’t a guilt trip, it wasn’t anger, it wasn’t disgust, hatred, fear, or anything negative for that matter. Instead, it was soft, vulnerable, and nearly downright affectionate. A buried, neglected part of Levi’s heart was suddenly uncovered, and he had no idea how to feel about it.

They both froze, completely unsure of what to do.

“Eren?” he asked, half whispering, still not daring to move, “Are you okay?”

The brunette pulled back, something absolutely horrible haunting his eyes, casting dark shadows in places that should have been bright and lively. His mouth opened, and a single, strangled word came out of lips that had nearly forgotten how to form it.

“Mom…”

That one syllable nearly broke Levi completely. He wanted to punch something, preferably whoever the fuck had robbed Eren of his future. He wanted to find that person, or people, organization, species, whatever, and make them Hurt. A lot. Hopefully for a long time. He would go through the pain of 100 dislocated knees if it meant that he never had to see that pain in those green-gold eyes ever again.

Unfortunately, the Scout could do absolutely nothing at that moment, no matter how pissed he was. The only possible action for him to take right then was something that he genuinely never thought he would experience.

He leaned forwards, ignoring whatever complaints his body had, and wrapped his arms around the shaking figure in front of him.

Captain Levi Ackermann, the second in command of the Scout Regiment, held a human who was impossible, a person who shouldn’t have even been alive, much less sobbing into his shoulder.

He hugged him while he cried.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its..... a lot. Time passes, Levi heals, and theres actual plot in this one, later on. (I debated splitting this into two parts, but decided that one of them would have been too short..)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was an absolute BITCH to write, but i guess im okay with how it turned out.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> \- More cussing
> 
> \- a pretty graphic description of injury, but its not that long
> 
> \- an even more graphic fight scene, sort of lengthy, and theres a lot of blood involved
> 
> \- Hange (they need their own warning label tbh)

Things started to change after that day. 

It wasn’t by a lot, and it definitely wasn’t noticeable, but the combined need for comfort and dependency on each other created a subtle shift in their behavior. Levi, who prided himself on his isolation and emotional distance from others, suddenly found himself wanting to get close to someone for reasons besides necessity. Eren, on the other hand, seemed to be getting more open around the Scout, letting him investigate what was earlier considered to be ‘personal’ or ‘off-limits to prying humans’.

This newfound attitude of ‘it’s mine, but I think it’s cool, so I’m going to show it to you’ started popping up practically daily, meaning there was a lot of weird shit that Levi had to put up with, like random rocks or leaves, a couple of the books in his mini-library tree, and on one memorable occasion, an actual fucking snake that tried to wrap around the captain’s arm before he chucked it off of the nest at nearly light-speed. The shifter had a good laugh about that, only to be met with a kick to the shin and a mild punch on his arm.

Along with the show-and-tell, the pair also managed to set up something at least vaguely resembling a schedule. Of course, it was by no means accurate, seeing as there weren't any convenient clocks lying around the forest, but it at least made things feel a bit less terrifying. 

On a normal day, they would wake up, Eren would go grab food while Levi sulked about his hurt leg, and they would eat, which was normally the time when the mini presentations occurred. Then, depending on the weather (or really just if they felt like it), they would go to some of the more fascinating spots in the forest. 

The Scout always tried to write down what he saw, which led to him slowly making a decently accurate map out of the different features that they had travelled to. So far, as of about two weeks in, he had marked the two lakes’ actual shorelines, (which were just rough blobs on the map Hange had given him) a thin stream that ran along the northeast perimeter of the woods, this weird-looking hill that was apparently important or interesting in some way, the nest, and a large clearing to the south of the bigger lake, which was filled with violets and periwinkles. (Eren had made them matching crowns out of said flowers, and had convinced Levi to wear it for the better part of the day.)

In fact, things seemed to be going rather well, all things considered. When they weren’t running around sightseeing, they were back at the nest, both trying to teach the other about life on the different sides of the Walls. If they weren’t doing that either, then chances were they were sleeping or working on a plan for when Levi could travel without nearly dying. Wall Rose was too far for a single day’s flight, mostly because having a passenger considerably slowed the shifter down, and Eren tended to get really tired after about an hour of flying him around. It would be no good if they both ended up passed out halfway there. 

Strangely though, the Scout realized that he had not once seen a titan in the whole time he was there, excluding the fight that had trapped him there in the first place. It was a little unsettling to think about, but at least it meant that there was a decreased chance of getting attacked and possibly killed. He had asked the shifter about it at some point, but the only thing he had written in reply was the word ‘Scared’, which was terrifying in its own right. He left it alone after that.

Life for the pair had settled into something akin to domesticity and peace, something so contradictory compared to their situation, and the captain would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it. Sure, he desperately wanted his actual mattress, and he maybe, almost missed talking to Shitty Glasses and Commander Eyebrows, but living outside the Walls had given him a peace and calm that he never thought fate would grant him.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Three weeks in, things got interesting. 

Levi woke up to Eren gone, something that wasn’t particularly unusual. The brat apparently had no idea what the fuck ‘sleeping in’ meant, so he would often leave to hunt far before the sun even breached the horizon. Unfortunately, this constantly left the Scout with absolutely nothing to do, which would in turn make him restless and frustrated. This mood would commonly lead to him trying to stand up, move, walk, or really anything to keep him occupied, even if it resulted in throbbing pain coming from his still healing joint.

This time, the boredom led to him flipping through the notebook that they had been using to communicate. His eyes skimmed over the slowly improving penmanship, reading back through the 20 or so pages of interactions, until something on the front cover caught his eye.

“Is that a fucking secret compartment?” he asked, though he’d seen enough in his time to know that it was.

Deft fingers slipped into the tiny, barely noticeable crack and lifted off the thin board that concealed the hollow section within the cover. He pulled out a sealed letter, one stamped with a symbol he recognized from Hange’s letters, meaning it was some sort of science thing.

After a moment of moral debate, he left the wax sealed, but kept the letter out, intending to ask Eren about it when he returned. It felt sort of wrong that he would be reading something that was potentially a clue about the boy’s past without him there.

As if his thinking had summoned him, the bird came crashing into the nest, breaking off a twig or two as he did so. Levi barely had time to yelp in surprise before noticing that there was now a dark red streak against the paler wood. 

He rushed over as fast as his body would allow, already mentally cursing himself for not wondering why the bird-boy was gone at nearly mid-morning. 

“Hey, brat, shit, talk to me. Please say that the blood isn’t yours, or like, squawk, or something. Fuck, I don’t care, just don’t fucking die on me.” he muttered, trying to check for injuries on the feathered body.

The shifter did so, letting out a pained-sounding trill as he attempted to get upright, even though he was in no state to do so. This, of course, failed, and he collapsed, transforming back to his human form a second later, body curled up in pain.

A few minutes of frantic searching later, Levi found no open wounds on the passed-out boy. There was, however, a large, ugly looking bruise on the center of his chest, surrounded by some sort of green pigment. The Scout recognized it immediately, it was the powder that was used by his Regiment in smoke signals.

This created several questions, none of which would probably yield good answers. The biggest one though, was where in the fuck had Eren been flying that had gotten him shot by a smoke round?!? Secondly, why was he covered in blood that wasn’t his?

The latter was answered a moment later, when his body started steaming, causing the captain to flinch back from the sudden release of heat. Unfortunately, this development caused more concern than relief, because the evaporation meant that the shifter was coated head to toe in rapidly disappearing titan blood. As in, blood that was once in a titan’s body. Which meant that he had fought a titan. That was not good news.

He continued to watch in dread as the last of it released into the air, leaving a horrible, burnt hair smell as a parting gift. The brunette, however, was no closer to waking up, and was still curled in on himself, arms crossed over his currently veridian ribcage.

“Well fuck,” he groaned, burying his face in his hands, “stupid Birdbrain had to go and get himself fucked up because of me, and now I have no clue in the fucking world how to fix him. Just peachy…”

Spewing various curses and insults out of sheer frustration, he tried desperately to remember Hange’s various first-aid lessons. He could recall various bits and pieces of how to deal with broken bones and the like, but there wasn’t a single bit of information that told him what to do in this scenario. (There was, in fact, no protocol for how to heal someone who could turn into a bird at will.) The closest be could come up with was to check for any internal bleeding or fractures in his ribs, which he tried, only to discover that his hands were nearly burned upon contact with the bruise. Was that normal? Four Eyes had mentioned something about injuries getting hot sometimes, or was that about infections? He hoped it wasn’t a bad sign.

Continuing, he gritted his teeth, placing his hands on the boy’s chest, pressing as lightly as he could to feel for anything squishy or sharp inside. There wasn’t any, but he was paranoid by nature, so he decided checking again would be a good idea.

On the second time around, when he tried to push a little harder, he was met with a small croak of pain from below him.

”Fuck, Eren, are you okay?” he asked, voice quiet with concern as he added, “You scared the shit out of me.”

His question was met with a weak and wheezy laugh, and he was nearly flooded with relief.

“Brat,” he muttered, flicking his forehead as lightly as he could.

The shifter caught his wrist, much to the captain’s surprise, and pulled with strength that he shouldn’t have had, causing the unprepared Levi to come crashing on top of him like a domino. His head knocked slightly against the wooden floor, making him wince as a tiny spark of pain shot through his previously abused skull. Eren had the audacity to laugh at him for it, so he kicked the brunette in the shin, something that even his stupidly fast reflexes couldn’t prevent.

After a miniature poking and kicking battle, where the only thing truly damaged was both of their egos, Levi attempted to get up so that he could continue checking for any internal injuries. Unfortunately, the boy under him had other plans, and grabbed onto the Scout’s chest with a disapproving trill, stopping him from escaping.

“Oi, let me up,” he ordered, “I still gotta make sure you won’t die on me randomly.”

Eren shook his head defiantly, and instead held on tighter as he buried his face into the captain’s neck.

“Walls help me,” he groaned, trying to extricate himself from the brunette’s vice grip-hug, before eventually giving up.

The shifter trilled happily at the raven’s surrender, pulling himself even closer, like he was trying to occupy the same space as Levi, who fumed silently, but tolerated it nonetheless. After all, it wasn’t long before his breathing changed, a clear sign that he was asleep, and the captain could escape from his arms. (Granted, he may or may not have gone back after he was 100% sure that there would be no dying happening any time soon, but it was clearly just so he wouldn’t scare the boy with his lack of presence.)

He also maybe, possibly, sort of fell back asleep after he did so.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

They woke up to an ear-splitting BOOM somewhere nearby, enough to jolt them both out of their sleep. Levi jumped up out of instinct, completely forgetting that standing still wasn’t quite a possibility for him. This resulted in a rather spectacular fall, landing on his ass with a loud “oof”. Eren, on the other hand, who could stand up just fine, did so, before looking around, eyes trying to focus in the bright, mid-afternoon sunlight.

There was a moment of absolute stillness as the forest fell quiet, clearly scared of whatever had caused the sound. Then, just at the edge of hearing, the quiet tap-tap-tap of horses approached, growing steadily louder.

“Scouts?” the captain whispered, desperately trying to get a look at the forest floor.

The shifter nodded affirmatively, pulling his hands over his shoulders as he did so, trying to imitate the act of putting on a cloak.

An absolute tsunami of hope, joy, and relief washed over Levi, leaving him filled with adrenaline. He could go back inside the Walls soon, back to his bed, back to Erwin, back to Hange, and most importantly, back to his bathtub. And, with any luck, he could bring Eren back with him, thereby giving the younger boy a chance at a normal life.

“HEY DUMBFUCKS!” he yelled, trying to face the direction that the horse sounds were coming from, “I’M OVER HERE, IN THE LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO MISS TREE!!”

A hand appeared on his shoulder, shaking him slightly to catch his attention. His head turned back to the standing boy, who handed him a paper that read ‘Do you want me to see if I can get them over here?’.

“What? Hell no!” he said, still shrieking, “Last time you went near Scouts as a bird you nearly fucking died! If they’re actual, good Scouts, they’ll find me, no problem.”

Eren rolled his eyes, then sat down on the wall, eyes scanning the forest floor for any sign of the other humans and their horses. Levi continued yelling, trying to put as much carry into his voice as possible. Whoever the fuck was looking for them, they needed better fucking ears.

Eventually, he heard the hoof steps gallop in a completely different direction, away from them, and he let out a frustrated scream, causing some of the birds nearby to flutter away.

The brunette looked back at him, making a frustrated gesture with his arms.

“Still not letting you leave, birdbrain. It won’t do us any good if those incompetent assholes shoot you before you can get me there. And don’t even THINK about picking me up, I will stab you.”

He crossed his arms and made an exasperated squawk, pouting at the captain as if he was the one who would lose more if they weren’t found.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was another hour before the galloping could be heard again, and Eren was seeming more and more like he would accept a knife to the arm if the Scouts didn’t get to them soon. Levi had to glare at him several times to stop him from jumping off the wall.

Eventually, the horses’ steps grew much closer, which both relieved and annoyed the captain.

“Hey fuckers!” he shouted, even as his voice was slowly going out from the strain, “Try looking up for once!”

The sounds were now practically beneath them, and Eren tugged his sleeve in excitement.

“Section Commander! Come get a look at this!”

Levi’s head snapped up. He recognized that voice, and was instantly fucking pissed that HIS fucking squad, of all people, took so long to finally spot such a big fucking nest. Hell, even Hange’s shitty vision shouldn’t have been able to miss it.

He stuck his head out over the wall, straining to get a better look at the forest beneath him. The boy next to him grabbed his wrist, directing his eyes to someone who was waving into the trees. 

“Oi, Petra, are you fucking blind?” the captain called, making the now recognizable girl below him jump.

The rest of the squad, plus Hange, came into the shadow of the nest, looking up in curiosity and shock.

“Levi!!” they screeched, clearly delighted to have found him, “You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice!”

Eren looked at him, confusion written plainly on his face. Sighing, the Scout waved the brunette off, promising to tell him later, which seemed to satisfy him.

“Say, Captain, how’d you manage to get stuck in a tree?” Oluo yelled, snickering.

Levi glared downwards. “I’m not fucking stuck here, asshole. I can get down there and smack you right now.”

The shifter beside him trilled, then laughed, practically saying “No the fuck you cannot” as the raven scowled at him. He elbowed him in the chest, gesturing downwards, and Eren finally got the message, nodding in understanding.

After hauling the captain to his feet, which he could now at least stand on, the brunette transformed, scaring the Scouts below him with the sudden light. He had gotten much better at hovering in the past three weeks and was now using it to stay in place as Levi slipped into his harness.

The goal was for Birdbrain to grab him and fly down, hopefully without hitting anybody in the process. Unfortunately, Eren was trying to go way too fast, and only grabbed one of the straps as he flew over the edge, so they ended up descending (and subsequently landing) in a flailing mess.

It looked way less intimidating than it should have been, and Levi glowered as the other Scouts tried to hide their laughs.

“Walls help me, I thought you’d gotten the fucking takeoff right at least,” he huffed, brushing off the leaves from his shirt.

Hange appeared in front of him, looking like a kid in a candy store, eyes sparkling with their own special brand of insanity.

“You made friends with a bird?!?” they asked, earning an indignant squawk in reply.

“Don’t even think about it, Four Eyes. Touch him and I’ll break those shitty glasses. And the spares too. Maybe even the backup spares.”

They pouted for a moment, then continued watching Eren, and the usual manic smile returned. Before Levi could stop them, they were standing far too close to the shifter, not quite touching him, but still inspecting nearly every aspect of the now fearfully trilling bird.

“Um, Captain, as much as its good to have you back, we should really go soon, since it’s nearly nighttime,” Petra said from his left, still giggling a little bit.

He glared at her slightly, still sitting, and let out a loud, sharp whistle to call Amelie. The horse, however, did not respond, and after a few moments of waiting, there was still no sign of her.

“Oi, Birdbrain,” he called, eliciting a squeal from Hange when the falcon’s head turned, “since you stole my horse, you can fucking call her.”

The shifter let out his almost-laugh, and the other Scouts all looked at him in utter bewilderment, which turned into shock as the normal Eren popped back into existence, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Show off,” Levi muttered, even though he himself was trying to conceal a smirk.

Hange looked like they were about to pass out, if the way they were bouncing up and down was any indication. Eren took the opportunity to edge away in fear, returning to the captain’s side before calling Amelie with the stupidly accurate whistle.

“Hey, uh, Captain? Mind telling us what just happened?” Oluo asked, still looking absolutely confused.

“What happened to ‘we need to leave before dark’?” the injured Scout asked, having the shifter lift him onto his horse, “I clearly don’t have the time to explain right now.”

Normally, he would have left right then to prove his point, but the boy next to him made a distressed sound. He turned to watch as the shifter gestured exaggeratedly with his arms towards the nest.

“Shit, yeah, almost forgot. Go get your books brat, but please don’t bring that stupid rainbow rock, or the notebooks. Four Eyes has more than enough.”

Shitty Glasses themselves squealed excitedly at the mention of books, and continued waving their hands excitedly as Eren flew himself up to the nest. He returned a moment later with books gently clutched in between his talons, which the captain took and placed in his saddlebags before Hange could snatch them.

“Now that that’s over, let’s get our asses out of here,” he said, then gently kicked Amelie into a slow walk, letting the rest of them catch up. 

There was another flash as Eren switched forms again, this time into a deer, which made Hange cackle evilly. Antlers gently tapped his arm as the shifter tried to put as much distance as possible between him and the terrifying scientist.

“Come onnnnnnnnnn,” they whined, guiding their horse to match the captain’s pace, “tell us what happened!! You’ll have to say it eventually, because there’s no way Erwin’s gonna let you come back after three whole weeks without a full report.”

“Oh, don’t remind me,” he groaned, absolutely dreading the amount of paperwork that awaited him inside the Walls.

“Section Commander, maybe its better if you leave Captain Levi alone for a while,” Petra said from behind him, her quiet voice a nice relief from the screaming mess that Hange had become, “I mean, he probably had to go through a lot.”

“Me?! Leave the captain alone? He shows up with…whatever the fuck that fascinating, precious thing is, and you want ME to shut up?!? That’s hilarious!”

“Eren,” Levi hissed, emphasizing the name, “is not a thing, he’s a person. And don’t even fucking think about making him one of your little test subjects, got it?”

Hange gasped.

“Oh my Walls, that is soooo fucking adorable!! My little boy is all grown up!! I’m so proud!”

“Fuck off and go bug someone else, Shitty Glasses, or maybe just shut up for once,” he muttered darkly, speeding up as he did so.

Unfortunately, the scientist didn't possess the physical ability to be quiet, nor did they have any sense of boundaries, so they continued to ramble on for another 2 hours, and all Levi could do was block them out. He had gotten quite good at that.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The group rode about halfway through the night with only minimal interruptions. There was only about another 300 kilometers to go, so with any luck they would arrive just after dawn.

Unfortunately, Fate was often not on the side of humanity, and they came across a mob of about 10 3-5 meter titans that were somehow still awake under the light of the full moon.

“Crap,” Gunther said bluntly, giving voice to what everyone was thinking, “there’s too many to go around, we’ll have to fight.”

“They should be out of energy by now,” Hange whispered, not directing it at anyone in particular.

Levi grimaced. Knowing that he was unable to fight was, and would always be, his least favorite feeling. Sadly, there wasn’t much he could do about it, seeing as he wasn’t even wearing his tanks, let alone his blades or cables.

“I’ll take those three little ones on the left,” Petra began, already making a strategy as she rode off towards the titans, “Eld, you need to get the biggest one, then help Gunther and Oluo with the rest.”

Eren made a huffing sound, and Levi turned to glare at him.

“Brat, if you so much as think about following them, I will steal your jacket and hang it in a place you can’t get to. You already nearly died once today.”

Hange giggled gleefully at the captain’s words, even as he swiveled around and flung his arm to hit them. Unfortunately, since his back was turned, the shifter took the opportunity to run after the other Scouts at full speed, ignoring Levi’s screeching of ‘get your ass back here or so help me Walls’.

He caught up easily, but continued to accelerate, surpassing the surprised humans. The superior officers watched as he caught the attention of a smaller titan, one fascinated, the other absolutely pissed. 

The titan reached down to grab the stag, but it was moving far too sluggishly to even come close to catching him. He jumped up, changing into his falcon form as he did so, and then proceeded to blind the lumbering monstrosity with his wicked sharp talons. Flying around the huge, flailing hands, he sliced the nape flesh clean off, making the now-steaming titan fall down, dead as a doornail.

The kill managed to attract the 5-meter, and Eren took it down with a well-placed deer kick to the base of its skull, then finished it off with his claws.

Watching the shifter take down the monsters was absolutely captivating, even to the Scouts trying to kill what was left of the group. He kept on flashing and changing, a blur of feathers, antlers, and skin, becoming whatever was needed for the best strike. Eren was a literal killing machine, a glorious, beautiful, and absolutely terrifying Angel of rage and death.

Plus, if the manic, berserk screeches coming from him was anything to go by, he enjoyed it.

“Holy shit,” Hange exhaled breathlessly, “he’s fucking good at this. Like, really good. You sure do know how to pick ‘em, Levi.”

He punched them again, but didn’t bother to disagree as he watched Eren and Petra kill off the last one.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

They met back up in the middle before continuing on, the squad chattering excitedly about what they had just done, including Eren whinnying enthusiastically at various points. Most of them were coated head to toe in quickly evaporating blood, but that was something that the Scouts were fairly used to.

Hange had tried multiple times to get closer to the shifter, probably to inspect him or something, but Levi kept blocking them off with a glare and the occasional slap, much to their continued frustration.

At some point after the moon had started dipping below the horizon, Eren started to slow down, having clearly exhausted himself by fighting. He eventually stopped completely, and the captain realized that he had literally fallen asleep while walking. A second later, he transformed back into his human body, which was out cold on and snoring lightly the ground.

“Walls help this fucking idiot,” Levi sighed, before getting off of his horse to pick him up.

“He could ride with me!” Hange said, grinning maniacally.

“Yeah, like hell I’m letting you start experimenting on him before we’re even inside Rose. Nice try though.”

Moving carefully so that he didn’t wake him up, he placed the sleeping boy onto Amelie’s back. They were both scrawny enough to fit onto the saddle, although it took a little strategic planning for Levi to be able to hold the reins comfortably.

Now that they had dealt with that situation, the group continued forwards through the last 50 or so kilometers, and finally arrived at the Gate about an hour later. 

Eren was leaning into Levi’s chest when they got there, head tucked underneath the captain’s chin as he continued to snore quietly. The 5 guards that rappelled down to greet them from atop the Wall weren’t sure what to be more shocked at, and they continued sneaking glances at the pair, even as they signaled for the gate to be opened.

“Hey, birdbrain,” he whispered, shaking the sleeping boy slightly, “we made it. We’re back to the Trost District.”

“Welcome home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, im so sorry if that was a mess or lacking in any way. I had to go in for a Covid test today, so ive been feeling like shit for a while. Also, i accidentally fell down a 3 hour long Wikipedia rabbit hole about bird wing anatomy, which will probably come up later ;)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, and have a great day/night! ~ MatchstiQs


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They are back inside the Walls!! Shit's going great for our two lovebirds, up until the moment it doesn't.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -second-hand embarassment. theres a lot of it, and if you're like me, it sucks ass
> 
> -More cussing!! Always fun!
> 
> -No fight scenes, but there is mentions of a riot
> 
> -obscene amounts of laughter, mostly from Hange.
> 
> \- the wall cult (derogatory)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news!! My early results came back negative, so i'm all good in the covid department! Also, today was the first day where i didnt feel like a pile of human garbage, so that's nice!
> 
> Anyways, I hope youre prepared for the absolute rollercoaster that this chapter turned out to be! Enjoy!! :P

Headquarters was a fucking mess.

There seemed to be some hastily thrown together welcome party, in which everyone there was dead eyed because they had been woken up before the sun. Hell, they had barely remembered to launch the confetti as they walked in, and it was pretty hilarious to watch them scramble to fire it off at the last second. 

Under different circumstances, Levi would have made fun of them for it, but he had been awake for far too long, and was now running on nothing but fumes of adrenaline.

Erwin met them inside of the Main Hall, somehow managing to look well-rested and full of energy as he clapped Hange on the shoulder, with a way too peppy “It’s good to see you all alive!”.

The commander’s gaze shifted around the occupants of the room, checking them over for injuries, before settling on Levi, who was carrying Eren as he slept. Somehow, the shouting and party-cannons hadn’t even phased him, and he just continued to slumber on.

“Don’t even think about asking questions, Eyebrows,” the captain growled, but he was so exhausted that there was no real push in the words, “You’re already going to demand a long ass fucking report later, so you can wait until then. Or ask Four Eyes, they’re practically begging for the opportunity to spew their science bullshit.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t push, for now at least. But as soon as you wake up, I want you to get started on writing down exactly what happened out there.”

Levi grunted in agreement, before walking off to find his room, and more importantly, his bed. The idea of a soft, squishy mattress and warm, fuzzy blankets sounded like literal fucking Heaven, and he desperately wished that he could walk faster without his leg giving out. 

By the time he realized that he was still carrying the snoring boy, he was already in his doorway, scowling at the layer of dust that coated nearly the whole room. Unfortunately, since he hadn’t bothered to find a room for the shifter, he came to the perfectly reasonable conclusion that they would just have to sleep on the same bed. (He had, in fact, completely overlooked the fact that the Infirmary always had spare beds available if necessary.)

Sighing, he pulled the still-made blankets down and set the sleeping shifter onto the sheet. Eren twitched subconsciously, pulling his knees up to his chest with a soft little trill. Levi almost laughed at how tiny and childish he looked. 

“Shit, what about his shoes?” he muttered, too tired to keep the words mental, “‘M not gonna let him get my fuckin’ bed dirty, but there’s no way he’s gonna wake up long enough to take them off”

He groaned, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, making spots dance across his vision. There was no avoiding it then, he’d just have to touch those muddy, disgusting boots. ‘Its for the greater good,’ he reminded himself, trying not to cringe as he untied the laces as fast as humanly possible.

Eventually though, he managed to get them off, then removed his own before rushing to the sink to wash his hands, ignoring the painful complaints from his leg.

When he returned, Eren was somehow both curled up and splayed out at the same time, one hand looped over his knees, the other stretched out beneath the pillow. The position vaguely reminded Levi of a cat, and he couldn’t stop the small, almost fond smile that made its way onto his face.

Still grinning slightly, he laid down on the bed, pulling the covers up with a sigh of sheer pleasure. The combined sensation of blankets, an actual mattress, a pillow, and the brunette’s intense body heat felt absolutely delightful, especially to his tired and aching body. It was enough to make him start to drift off almost immediately, although he would have done so regardless of where he was laying.

At some point before he fully passed out, when the sun was just staring to turn the sky pink, he felt warm arms wrap around his chest, and an even warmer face press into his neck, burying itself there comfortably. The captain did nothing to stop it.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and this good thing was cut way too short for Levi’s taste.

Hange came barreling into his room just after midday, not even bothering to knock as they did so.

“Leevvvvviiiiiiiii,” they yelled, jolting the sleeping captain awake, “Erwin sent me t-”

The rest of the sentence was cut off with a far-too excited squeal that would have broken glass if it was any higher pitched.

“Fuck off Four Eyes, it’s too early for this shit” he groaned, before opening his eyes and realizing the position he was in.

His arms were wrapped around Eren’s waist, and the boy himself was curled into Levi’s chest, with his head nestled into the crook of his neck. A blush crept up the Scout’s neck, despite his efforts to stop it.

Hange was cackling like the lunatic they were, hands clutching their sides as they fell over, clearly in stitches.

“It- it’s nearly a-afternoon,” they wheezed, gasping for breath, “but I can s-see why you do- don’t want- don’t want to wake up!”

Scowling, he extricated himself from the shifter’s arms, eliciting a whiny trill of displeasure from the brunette, who was only half awake.

“What the fuck do you want anyways,” he hissed, which only made the scientist laugh harder.

He waited, glaring at them as they leaned on his doorframe for help, tears streaming down their face as their hysterics continued. It took a solid five minutes for them to stand up again, and occasional giggles still bubbled out of their chest.

“What I was trying to say before you nearly killed me with that adorable little show was that Erwin needs us all in his office as soon as possible, because somehow some civilian managed to start rumors about your little boyfriend over there,” they said, tone getting a bit more serious, even as they continued chuckling.

“He’s not my boyfriend, Shitty Glasses, and I’d think someone who claims to be as smart as you would know that.”

“Yeah, sure, totally. You definitely weren’t just cuddling with him,” they continued, grinning as they dodged Levi’s next punch, “but seriously, hurry up and get dressed, Erwin will be pissed if you wait any longer. Oh, and Eren can wear whatever he wants, but you have to be in official uniform, as always.”

The captain scowled at them as they walked away, still laughing like a maniac.

There was an inquisitive trilling noise from directly behind his ear, which made him flinch in surprise.

“Don’t fucking sneak up on me like that, birdbrain,” he scowled, trying to make his heart rate decrease.

Eren repeated the sound, this time tugging on the Scout’s sleeve to emphasize his point. Unfortunately, Levi had no idea what that point was exactly, so he just continued to stare at him in confusion.

The shifter huffed impatiently, trilled again, and then made a scribbling gesture with one hand against the other. It was pretty obvious what he meant when he did it like that, and Levi immediately started rummaging around to find a notebook and pencil, which he did, and passed it over to the mildly frustrated boy.

‘What was the scary person talking about?’ the captain read once the paper was handed back, snorting at the new nickname for Hange, ‘Why are people talking about me? Did I do something wrong?’ 

Levi grimaced slightly after he read the last question, trying to find the right words to explain.

“People like to talk a lot about business that isn’t theirs,” he began, trying to keep the uncertainty out of his voice, “and knowing that there’s someone who’s been outside the Walls for as long as you have is probably been raising a lot of questions. I doubt you’ve done anything wrong, but a lot of people, especially the religious sorts, are scared of things that they don’t understand, because they’re spineless bastards who don’t care about anything other than themselves.”

A pensive look came across the brunette’s face as he processed the words, and the captain let out a sigh of frustration, not meant for the shifter, but for the absolute pain in the ass that was the legal system.

“Don’t think about it too much for now, we still need to haul ass to satisfy Shitty Eyebrows.”

Eren nodded in understanding, then paused, gesturing to his dirt-scuffed clothes.

“Yeah, we can stop by the Laundry Center to grab you some clean clothes, but I need to wrestle with my fucking uniform first, damn buttons,” he groaned, wishing that they weren’t pressed for time so that he could take a shower, “Wait outside for a second, and if Four Eyes comes back you have my full permission to beat their ass.”

The green-eyed boy laughed, then stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Levi turned his attention to his uniform drawer, eyeing it warily. He wasn’t even sure that it would fit him anymore, considering he had lost a lot of muscle mass in the past month. However, there was only one way to find out, even if he hated it.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

10 minutes and a lot of cussing later, he was wearing all 9 pieces of the truly outrageous outfit. Logically, there was no reason to be wearing 3 layers and a cap in 25 degree weather, but Erwin was picky about appearances. He scowled slightly at his reflection in the mirror, hating how the vest hung slightly too loose and that his sleeves had to be rolled up in order to fit snugly on his wrists.

A knock sounded on his door, accompanied by an inquisitive chirp, which snapped him out of his self-criticization. He walked over and opened it, only to immediately be met with snickers from outside.

“Oh shut up brat,” he growled, flicking the boy’s forehead as he spoke, “It’s not like I’m enjoying this fucking stupid ass getup. Hurry up though, we still need to get your stuff, and we’ll be lucky if Erwin doesn’t kill you for making me so late.”

He started walking towards the steam-emitting building in the distance, ignoring the fact that he probably should not have been going so fast with a still-healing joint injury. There was no sense in making Amelie work any harder than she had to, seeing as she had been pretty much running wild over the past few weeks. Eren chuffed disapprovingly at his pace, and a slight prickle filled the air.

“Don’t even think about it, birdbrain. If random people saw you transform in broad daylight there would be sheer fucking chaos. They’re probably already making up stories about you as we speak, which is enough of a headache on its own, so don’t encourage them.”

The shifter let out a chitter of disappointment, clearly unhappy to be restricted to one form. Levi sympathized, because he too wished that he could fly the fuck out of whatever mess was sure to come.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was another half hour before they arrived at Erwin’s office, with Eren now dressed in a crestless uniform. He tugged at his new cravat uncomfortably, and it was obvious that he didn’t like having things so tight around his throat, a pain felt by anyone who had ever worn such a ridiculous garment.

The commander greeted them, even as he chastised Levi for being so late.

“Fuck off Eyebrows. What do you want?” he groaned before sitting down next to Hange, leaving the final chair open for the brunette, who seated himself timidly.

“What I wanted,” Erwin said, eyes sparkling with concealed laughter, “was a written report in my hands by 11. But, since you were apparently otherwise occupied, as Hange was nice enough to tell me, I’ll excuse it this time, and you can get in a more detailed version to me later.”

Levi glared at the commander, but let him continue as his tone became more serious.

“In other, more pressing news, the government is trying to snoop around for intel on, what was your name again? Errol?”

“Eren,” the captain interrupted, “his name is Eren, and you know it. Shitty Glasses must have told you at some point.”

The shifter chirped in agreement, and Erwin turned his gaze to him, regarding the boy with intense curiosity. He shrunk under the intimidating stare, looking like he’d much rather be somewhere else, and was visibly relieved when the commander’s eyes moved over to Hange.

“Section Commander, you mentioned something about a shapeshifting ability? How does that work?”

Eren pulled on Levi’s sleeve excitedly, probably itching to change forms. Hange was doing the same thing on his other side, except they were giggling maniacally. Erwin chuckled at the sight, but it morphed into a full laugh when the captain’s head started turning furiously, trying to glare at all three of them at the same time.

“Fuck you all, do whatever you want,” he scowled, crossing his arms as he slid down in his chair, “Except you, Four Eyes. Touch him and you’re dead.”

The shifter frantically leapt out of his chair, grinning enthusiastically as he scrambled into a bigger space. 

One particularly bright flash later, he was hovering in the air, turning proudly to show off his new feathers. He then proceeded to land for a moment, before changing again, this time into a deer. Levi sighed in exasperation as he continued to be way too energetic and showy, flipping back and forth in a dizzying performance. 

“Fascinating,” the commander said, voice both intrigued and pensive, “Do we have any idea what allows him to do this? Any hypotheses?”

Hange bounced gleefully at the word “hypotheses”.

“I’m thinking it might be genetic manipulation, but there’s no way to tell without further testing!! I’d like to have him spend at least a couple hours in my lab, but every time I try to get close Levi bites my head off because he’s too protective!! There’s so much we can learn from him, and if I can isolate what happens when he transforms, we might be able to use it to fight titans! He took down, like, 12 of them yesterday, no problem!”

Levi was positively fuming by the time they finished speaking, and stared frostily at Erwin, his stormcloud-silver eyes boring invisible holes into the blonde’s forehead. 

Unfortunately, the commander was nodding in agreement with the scientist, clearly swayed by the idea of using weaponized genetics as a way to fight titans.

“Well then, it seems only logical to let you take him for a while,” he decided, eliciting a delighted squeal from Hange, “In the meanwhile, Levi, I want you to investigate the rumors circulating in the city. See if they’ve reached anyone of serious importance, or if there’s any truth to them. Reconnaissance only though, I don’t want you picking fights with random civilians over gossip.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” the captain snapped before standing up suddenly, making Eren flinch from beside him, “You’re just gonna let Shitty Glasses do whatever they want to him, and send me out to listen to fucking rumors?!?” 

“Yes, I am, and I expect you to do it well. Additionally, I doubt drawing a little blood or taking a hair sample is going to kill him.”

Levi marched over to the door, never turning his back on the commander, and flung it open in icy, calculated rage.

“If anything happens to him, and I mean anything, I will not hesitate for a second before I bring hell itself down on the both of you.”

With that, he slammed the door shut and stormed away, already planning multiple ways he could fuck with them. The idea brought a smile to his face.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He spent the next hour walking around the main city whilst wearing more comfortable clothing, which was the first relieving thing to happen all day. However, he eventually realized that just strolling through the marketplace wasn’t going to get him anywhere, so he switched tactics.

It took less than 10 minutes of sitting in a bar for him to overhear a useful conversation between 3 tipsy women.

They appeared to be merchants, judging from their higher-quality clothes and holier-than-thou way of speaking.

“Say,” one of them giggled, taking a sip of whatever expensive, bluish liquid she was holding, “have you heard the latest buzz about that Scout captain that everyone thought was dead?”

Her companions all ooh-ed at the promise of some juicy military gossip, and Levi rolled his eyes as he continued listening.

“Apparently, he came back alive, and with another person no less. Imagine that, living outside for so long, with no servants to help you!”

‘Walls, I forgot how annoying merchants are,’ the captain thought, taking a sip from his own drink, ‘None of them would last a day outside, much less a month.’ 

“Anyways, my cousin’s lover’s brother works in the Garrison Regiment, and apparently one of them swears to have seen the mystery person become a deer! I thought that he had been drinking too much, but it seems that a lot of the other guards say it’s true!”

Levi leaned forwards at that, suddenly becoming more invested in the conversation. If people had actually seen Eren transform, he would have an even bigger problem on his hands than he had originally thought.

“Oh!” one of the other ones exclaimed, clearly more drunk than the previous speaker, “That explains why there was someone preaching on the corner about how a half-human form of God had returned to save us from the titans! The Wall Cult freaks shut him down pretty quickly, but he actually had quite a crowd going…”

The other women chattered in agreement, chuckling drunkenly about religious fanatics and their crazy ideas, completely ignorant of the Scout gaping at them from under an inconspicuous brown cloak.

‘Holy shit, I knew those lazy assholes over in Garrison liked to gossip, but this is another fucking level. How the fuck is there already people trying to make it about religion? It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet!’

The captain groaned, burying his face into his hands, then proceeded to down the last swallow or two in his cup before heading out the door, suddenly dedicated to his mission.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It didn’t take long for him to find another source of information, considering he nearly ran into it when he turned down the block.

There was a man standing on a bench in front of one of the bigger fountains in the city, speaking to a crowd of about 30 people.

“Hope is coming our way, my brethren!” he proclaimed, spreading his arms dramatically, “It seems Fortune is beginning to smile upon our Blessed district! You see, in the darkest hour of the night, a man was brought inside our Gifted Walls. This is no ordinary man though, for he is secretly an Angel, sent to us with blessings from God!”

The crowd, which was slowly gaining more people, erupted into cheers as the preacher continued, all except for Levi, who looked like he wanted to punch someone.

“It has been witnessed by over 50 people that the Demigod possesses the ability to transform into any animal on the Earth! Many say that he brought a dead man back to life and delivered him safely into the Walls!”

That bit was partially true at least, and the captain nearly scoffed, even as the people around him gasped excitedly. Eren had helped him, sure, but there was no necromancy or miracles involved, just a lot of bickering and waiting.

The preacher kept going, saying things about how Birdbrain would somehow reclaim all of Earth for humanity, but Levi decided that he had more than enough information for now, so he left, brown cloak concealing his identity as he made his way back to Headquarters.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He got back as the sun started to descend from its peak, and came to the conclusion that he would be able to take at least a quick shower before he had to face Eyebrows again. Part of him wanted to find Eren and drag him away from whatever the fuck Hange was doing to him, but there was no way he’d be able to look at him with a straight face after the bullshit he had just listened to.

Unfortunately, he ended up having to anyways, because there was a knock at his door not even 2 minutes after he finished bathing. He hung his towel around his neck, and scowled as he pulled the door open.

There wasn’t even time to see who was outside, because he was immediately tackled in a hug, or maybe a tactical ambush, who knows. Arms wrapped around his waist as he stumbled backwards, desperately trying not to fall. He was hit with the familiar, comforting smell of pine trees, lake water, and sunshine, and stopped himself from flinging the other person away.

Hange was standing in the doorway too, laughing their ass off at the sight before them.

“Oi, brat, a little warning would have been nice,” he muttered, but it was said more endearingly than anything else.

“L- Leviii,” a rough, shaky voice mumbled, and he nearly flinched out of shock.

“Eren?” he whispered, “was that you?”

Hange skipped into the room, a huge grin on their face.

“You bet your ass it was!!! And I, for one, think its absolutely adorable that his first word was your name!”

“How?” he asked, and although he wouldn’t admit it, he was a little bit in awe of the scientist’s work, “I thought he had forgotten how to speak or something, like with that muscle memory shit that you always talk about.”

“Actually, its pretty much the opposite!” the scientist exclaimed, still giggling whenever they glanced the other two, “For some reason, his vocal cords were 7 different types of fucked up, probably something that happened because of the shifting. If you’ve ever seen the inside of a bird’s throat, a deer’s, and a human’s, it was like some weird, jumbled together combination of that. So, I made him really focus on just making that part of him human, and I guess it worked!”

Levi felt a smile creep onto his face, tugging the corner of his lips up. Maybe Hange wasn’t as much of an asshole as he thought.

“Levi,” Eren murmured again, voice slowly becoming more and more clear as he spoke, “Levilevilevilevileviiiiiiiiiiii”

He nearly choked on air, and Hange burst into another fit of laughter. The shifter hummed contentedly, which was a weird change from the trills that the captain had grown accustomed to.

“T-that’s my name, brat, don’t wear it out on your first day,” he said, failing to hide the neither the stammer nor the blush that had snuck its way onto his face.

“Looking at you two is literally the cutest thing that I have ever seen in my entire time on this planet,” the spectacled person squealed, “I could die right now and be perfectly satisfied with how my life ended.”

“Yeah, I’d be glad if you died right now too, Shitty Glasses,” he muttered, before attempting to escape from the shifter’s arms.

“Anywaysssssss, now that you’re back from spying on the townspeople, I want to hear all the hot gossip that’s surely running around the city!!”

Levi sighed, desperately trying to keep the stupid preacher’s rant out of his head. It was too weird to think that someone who was apparently ‘an Angel sent with blessings from God’ had been clinging to him for the past 10 minutes, absolutely refusing to let go.

“I’m not gonna repeat the same shit twice, you can wait until I tell Eyebrows about it,” he said, still trying to pull himself out of the death-grip that he was stuck in, “Which I actually need to go do right now, so please help me detach myself from this leech.”

Eren laughed at that, a real, human laugh, not a jumbled mess of animal sounds, and Levi nearly melted into a fucking puddle on the floor.

Hange shook their head vehemently, grinning as they watched the captain struggle.

“Birdbrain, please, you are going to make me late for the second time today if you don’t let go,” he muttered, hoping to appeal to the shifter’s fear of Erwin.

There was a beat of silence before he released him with a disappointed sigh of “Fine, I guess…”

“Thank you, idiot, now let’s go so we can be there before the sun sets.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Let me get this straight,” the commander said, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation, “The citizens have somehow gotten it into their head that Eren is… what, the next coming of God?”

Levi nodded, burying his arms in his face out of sheer frustration.

“That’s pretty much it, yep. I’d give it 2-3 days tops before the MP fuckers get wind of it, maybe less.”

Hange started laughing and was quickly joined by Eren. It was completely understandable, given that the idea sounded downright absurd, and both Erwin and the captain found themselves chuckling slightly.

“Going by that logic,” the scientist gasped, trying to catch their breath, “then you’re an Angel too Levi! A tiny, murderous, clean freak Angel!”

That statement made him laugh so hard that he couldn’t even complain about the jab at his height.

“W-wait,” he said, clutching his sides, “if I’m a fucking Angel, then that would make Eyebrows God!!”

All four of them were practically rolling on the floor after that, much to the confusion of a Scout standing in the doorway, wondering whether or not she should interrupt. 

Erwin eventually noticed her, and struggled to regain his composure as he motioned for her to come in.

“Uhm, good evening, Commander! I’m here to inform you that there’s a mob of civilians at the front gate, yelling about an Angel or something.”

The word “Angel” nearly sent them all into another fit of laughter, and Hange snickered as Erwin nodded gravely, pretending like there wasn’t a huge fucking grin on his face.

“Very well, thank you for notifying me. I do apologize for my…strange behavior. Unfortunately, we don’t have much jurisdiction over dealing with riots, but I’ll see what I can do.”

The Scout saluted them before turning and walking away, and they all relapsed into giggles as soon as she was gone. 

“Levi,” the commander continued, still sniggering as he tried to maintain a straight face, “why don’t you and Hange go check things out, maybe try and get them to leave without violence. I’ll stay here with Eren so that they don’t see him and get any ideas.”

The captain nodded, practically elated that he would have the opportunity to yell at some religious dumbfucks, and stood up to leave the room, only to be stopped by a hand tugging at his jacket.

“Relax, Birdbrain, I’ll be back soon. Eyebrows probably won’t bug you too much, he has paperwork and shit to do,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Eren hummed disapprovingly, but let go of Levi’s sleeve nonetheless. He and Hange walked outside, ready to smack some civilians. Verbally, of course.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The front gates were a fucking mess, and that was putting it lightly. There were people chanting “YOU CANNOT KEEP THE BLESSINGS FROM THE PEOPLE”, and at least half of them had literal pitchforks and torches.

“Walls help us,” Hange cursed, “there’s gotta be around two hundred civilians there, and that’s if I round down. How did this manage to spread so quickly?”

“Fuck if I know, but if the MP’s don’t show up soon things are gonna get really bad really quickly.”

The scientist nodded in agreement, eyes sweeping back over the crowd.

Suddenly, some random citizen pointed at Levi and screamed, “It’s him! The one who has been saved by the Angel’s light!!!”

That proclamation was the thing that finally tipped the scales from ‘riot’ to ‘insane religious mob’. The horde of people swarmed past the Scouts that had been trying to hold them back, all rushing towards Levi.

“Well fuck.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp, sorry to leave you off like that, but hey its for suspense purposes. I hope you liked everything that this chapter contained, such as one very protective Levi, a clingy Eren, and of course a fucking insane Hange. Also!! I'm slowly compiling mood music for Levi, Eren, and Hange, so tell me if i should start adding the songs i think fit them in the notes!
> 
> K, i think that covers everything, so happy holidays everyone!!! and as always, thanks for reading my story :D


	5. Chapter Five (in which they are running for their lives)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know the scene from Life of Brian with the whole "HE IS THE MESSIAH" bit? Yeah that's basically a decent chunk of this chapter, and the rest of it is fight scenes or fluff.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> \- Graphic descriptions of violence!! And a riot too, if that counts. They have pitchforks so yeah i guess
> 
> \- a brief mention of painkillers
> 
> \- kind of eating disorder? but not really it's more of an actual health thing
> 
> -as always, stupid amounts of cussing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heheheee look at my greedy little gremlin hands using all of my break glued to my laptop to write!! I'm sorry this one took a bit longer than usual, I had to help with Christmas prep and stuff while trying not to puke my guts out every hour or so. Also thank you to the person who showed me the italics thingy, and sorry for being too lazy to look it up lmao.

If you’ve ever tried to chase a Scout, especially ones as high ranked as the two running from a chanting mob, you’d know that they’re slippery little humans, and that was without adding in ODM gear. 

“Shit shit SHIT,” Levi cussed, trying to keep himself from screaming in pain as he scrambled towards the stables, Hange close behind him, “Where in the FUCK are those useless Millitary Police?!”

“Keep on running, Angel, unless you want to be killed by regular, vanilla civilians!” the scientist puffed as they turned a corner, desperately trying to lose the shouting swarm of citizens with VERY sharp looking farming implements.

They were about halfway to their horses when they were both yanked into the air by their fellow officers. 

“Captain!” Petra shouted, pulling him onto a nearby roof, “Over here!”

He followed the blonde Scout, still running, because the rioters were trying to literally scale the fucking building, chanting about how he was “a living miracle” and “the first to be saved”

The now-six of them dashed towards the tallest building in Headquarters, the ODM Center. They jumped from rooftop to rooftop, with the angry sea of people following from the ground, hoping to cut off their escape. At some point, they gave up on running, and instead started swinging around on their gear while tossing Levi and Hange between them like hot potatoes. 

Eventually, they made it into the Center, and the mob was somehow still behind them. Granted, they had lost a quite a few people, (merchants couldn’t run for shit unless there was money or power involved) but the captain still recognized the preacher from earlier, as well as a few Garrison members.

Hange jammed their all-access key into the lift’s slot, desperately trying to hit the ‘close-doors’ button, which finally worked right as the rioters managed to push past the Levi squad, who were trying and failing to keep them from entering the ODM center.

They started being pulled upwards, much to their collective relief, only for the elevator to stop on the second floor, which was the maze-like gas tank refill plant.

Erwin greeted them with a nonchalant, “Ah, hello. Fancy running into you here, Captain, Section Commander.”

“Where’s Eren,” Levi demanded, glowering as the commander stepped inside the small elevator, “If you left him alone, I swear I will throw you to the rabid people below us,”

“Relax, he’s fine. I sent him up to the top 10 minutes ago, along with one of the newer recruits I found. I’ve just been waiting for you here.”

It was at that point that Hange broke down into uncontrollable laughter, probably out of both adrenaline and insanity.

“This is quite the fucking problem!!” they exclaimed, howling as they leaned on the metal grate walls, “Levi- you should have, oh _Walls_ , you should have seen your face!! When they started talking about that light bullshit I thought you, hooo boy I can’t BREATHE, were going to pull a knife on that one guy!!”

Erwin snickered as the lift reached the roof, and the captain elbowed him in the side on the way out the door.

“Levi!!” Eren shouted, standing up from here he was sitting beside a very confused looking Scout.

“Hey birdbrain,” he said, voice taking up the flat and neutral tone that he used around the newer recruits, even as the corner of his mouth twitched up, “Or should I say Our Lord and Savior?”

Hange continued cackling as Eren shook his head vehemently, clearly not liking the new nickname. 

There was a clinking sound as the rest of the squad hopped onto the roof, all of them clearly disheveled from trying to fend off the crazed citizens.

“The MP’s showed up, finally” Gunther sighed bitterly, glaring down at the chaos below him.

Everyone on the roof let out noises of disapproval at the mention of the Military Police. Unfortunately, they were the only Regiment with the authority to arrest civilians outside of emergencies, even if they were pretty much useless in every other department.

“Well!” Erwin exclaimed, clapping his hands to catch everybody’s attention, “That may solve the problem for now, but this is clearly a much bigger issue than we thought. However, since they already figured out his location, we need to figure out what to do with Eren in order to keep him safe. Any ideas?”

Levi nodded in agreement, glad that Eyebrows had at least some semblance of a brain in his skull.

Petra raised her hand timidly and asked why they couldn’t just give him to the MP’s for a while, seeing as they had the best protections.

“What, are you fucking insane Blondie?” her captain said, only slightly annoyed, “Those incompetent assholes would either dissect him or try and parade him around for fame.”

“We’ll keep that as a last resort, but only if the other options fall through. Any other suggestions?”

There was a quiet pause as everyone frantically thought up new possibilities and what they would entail.

“Scouts!” Eren declared, breaking the silence with a slight yell, “I want to join the Scouts.”

Levi gaped at the shifter, resisting the urge to slap him upside the head for being an idiot. Alas, the boy was incredibly stubborn, and was now standing with his hands on his hips, grinning at Erwin with that stupidly determined smile.

“I do suppose you’d be a big help in expeditions into Shinganshina, seeing as you’re familiar with the area, not to mention your…abilities. It’s not a half bad idea actually, and I’m sure that we could speed you through the basic training,” the commander said, bushy eyebrows furrowed in thought.

“Erwin, please don’t tell me you’re not actually fucking considering this,” Levi hissed, now furious with the blonde for the second time that day, “I’m not going to let him fucking kill himself because he’s too stupid to keep himself safe!”

The commander sighed, evidently caught in a dilemma. It was a choice between giving Humanity a big advantage over the titans, and making his friend potentially hate him for the rest of his life. Plus, if this religious nonsense continued, they would have to deal with not one, but two cults that wanted their Regiment shut down.

A new voice entered the conversation, belonging to the initiate Scout that most everyone had forgotten about.

“Uhm, I’m sorry for interrupting, Commander,” she stammered, shrinking under Levi’s terrifying glare, “but my, ah, C-corps has an empty spot. The only person who didn’t, er, didn’t come with us to the Scouts was Annie, she joined the Military Police back in J-January.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear. You’re one of the 104th, right? It would be better to have him with other young adults, that’s for sure.”

Levi nearly screeched in frustration. These fucking idiots were practically handing Birdbrain a death sentence, and they weren’t fucking LISTENING to him. What was the fucking point in being a captain if he had no say in important decisions?!?!

Eren noticed his distress and placed a hand on his shoulder, catching the raven’s attention. His head snapped up out of reflex, gaze meeting the shifter's as a slight tension passed between them.

“Levi,” he said quietly, green eyes piercing into silver, “I will be fine. I don’t die easy, and I won’t let you die either. Let me join.”

It was the longest sentence that he’d heard the brunette say, and there was a long moment of tense silence before his resolve crumbled.

“Fine,” he muttered, gently pushing him away, “but I’ll be so pissed if you get yourself hurt, so try not to, okay brat?”

The biggest fucking smile appeared on Eren’s face, and he turned to Erwin, waiting for his verdict.

“Very well then, you can start cadet training tomorrow, because we’ve all had enough excitement for one night. Welcome to the Scouts, Eren.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Levi woke up, once again, with a very warm, clingy shifter attached to his chest. This time, though, there wasn’t any door knocking or interrupting scientists, just the stupid sunlight burning through his eyelids, which he couldn’t seem to escape no matter how he turned his head.

“Hey, brat, wake up,” he mumbled, eyes still closed as he gently shook the sleeping boy.

“Nooooo,” the brunette whined, pressing his face further into Levi’s chest, “ ’m tireddddd…”

“You’re the one who volunteered for cramming two years’ worth of training into a month or three. I tried to warn your dumb ass. Now get up and shower before they turn off the hot water.”

The shifter groaned and sat up, rubbing at his eyes in exhaustion before going still, looking at the captain like he had just realized something.

“Levi,” he asked, voice getting very quiet, “what’s a shower?”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Nearly a full hour later, there was an absolute _mess_ in the captain’s bathroom, a hopelessly exasperated Scout, and one finally clean Eren. Granted, things went pretty quickly after Levi had yelled at him that, he did, in fact, need to turn the OPPOSITE way if he wanted to stop the water from spraying everywhere.

“That was more of a disaster than I thought it would be,” the captain muttered, throwing a balled up towel at the shifter’s head.

“It is not my fault that it was so complicated!! Whoever made those needs help.”

Levi snorted, fastening his cloak around his neck.

“Whatever, we need to go eat,” he said, turning to open the door, “Training on an empty stomach is one of the worst things you can do, and I’ll bet Shitty Glasses wants to fuck with you again, so you need to keep your energy up.”

Eren fiddled with his shirt, trying to button his stupid cuffs. He seemed to struggle with smaller things like that, and often found himself getting frustrated whenever he had to do things with his fingers instead of his whole hand. At dinner the previous night, he had dropped his cup at least 3 times before Levi had shown him different ways to hold the handle.

“Come here idiot, let me do them,” he sighed, reaching for the shifter’s sleeves.

“No! I can do it… just got to put my thumb like this… and that pull this and- Oh!! I did it!!”

He beamed, proudly showing off the buttoned cuffs as he followed the captain out the door, who had his own ghost of a smile dancing on his lips.

“Alright, we’re gonna grab food to go, but afterwards you can either start training, or go to your physical with Four Eyes,” the Scout said, walking out into the streets of Headquarters.

The brunette aggressively shook his head at the second option, eyes going wide out of the fear he had of the scientist. Levi barked out a laugh at his terrified expression, then turned a corner, joining the line for food.

“What’s this?” the shifter asked, backing away slightly from the small crowd, “What are we waiting in line for?”

“Food, obviously. I think its bagels today, since it’s the second Thursday of the month.”

“Oh…” he said, eyes suddenly focusing on the cobblestone below him, “I’m, uh, not really hungry.”

Levi stared at him for a moment, before letting out a long sigh of exasperation. He had gotten fairly good at reading Eren’s many emotions, considering he had spent what felt like an eternity with him. This one was pretty clearly anxiety, probably about what he was going to do today.

“You can fight titans, run from a crazy mob, and jump off of fucking trees, but you draw the line at meeting new people?! That’s absolute bullshit, brat.”

“Leviiiiiii,” he muttered, continuing to pout, “I swear, I just don’t feel like eating.”

“Listen, birdbrain, you’re going to fucking eat at least half of a bagel, or I’m going to shove it down your fucking throat, got it?” the captain said, and everyone within a meter radius flinched at the sheer, monotone authority in his voice.

Somehow, Hange managed to materialize behind him, snickering as they tapped his shoulder.

“What’s this I hear about shoving things down people’s throats?”

“Morning Four Eyes. Explain to this idiot that he needs to eat.”

The scientist moved over to Eren, who was still sulking a little, and started poking slightly at his arms and stomach with a pencil before examining the underside of his wrist.

“Yeah, that’s what I came here to tell you,” they said, jotting down notes about something, “If his throat was anything to go by, I’d bet that his whole digestive tract is pretty messed up, so its fine if he doesn’t want to eat processed food and stuff. Make sure he drinks though, he can’t give blood if he’s dehydrated.”

“See?” the shifter huffed, crossing his arms stubbornly as they moved up the queue.

Levi rolled his eyes and grabbed a bagel and some butter from the table that they had finally reached.

“Fine, whatever, but don’t complain to me if you’re hungry later.”

Hange grabbed one too, completely disregarding the line, and followed the captain to Erwin’s office, which thankfully wasn't far.

“Oi, Eyebrows,” he said when they arrived, making the commander look up from a near mountain of paperwork that he was filling out, “What’s your stupid training plan for Birdbrain?”

“Well, to be honest, I thought I’d leave that up to you, seeing as you know what he’s capable of.”

Levi was a little bit taken aback by that. Normally, Erwin only really used him in expeditions, or sometimes slightly less than legal reconnaissance. He had never been given full control of a _mission_ , let alone teaching someone how to be a Scout.

“I do have one request though,” he continued, “a few, actually.”

The captain nodded, but eyed his commander warily. For all he knew, he would try to pull one of his schemes for the ‘greater good’, which generally resulted in a lot of people dying for little to no reason.

“One, if the government comes around with an arrest warrant, I need you to hand him over. They have no solid reason to execute him, and any case they’d try to make in court would collapse. It would be way worse for us if it seemed like we were hiding him. The last thing we need right now is a freeze on expeditions.”

This was a decent request, logical even, but that didn’t mean Levi had to like it. The idea of just…handing over Eren was certainly not appealing, no matter how much sense it made.

“Two, let Hange keep running experiments on him. You’ve already seen that they won’t kill him, so I expect this one will be the easiest.”

Erwin made a good point with that one. Although the scientist was a little unhinged, he still trusted them more than most other people.

“Thirdly, to avoid suspicion, he needs to seem like he has been a member of the 104th Training Corps since the beginning. I did some digging and found out that there are two members there that lived in Shinganshina before the fall, and everyone there has been on the front lines before, so they aren’t completely green. He should start making acquaintances with them, today, if possible. Oh, and keep his abilities a secret unless it becomes absolutely necessary to tell them.”

Levi didn’t like that idea in the slightest, because it would mean that Birdbrain would be getting moved to a completely different section of headquarters. Plus, he knew that Eren didn’t like being in one form for too long, which would be a problem if he was going to keep his shapeshifting a secret, but he also recognized that it was an essential part of trying to keep the brunette out of a jail cell, or worse, the gallows.

“Finally, I would like to see him in action, just to satisfy my own curiosity. Hange, do you still have those titans we captured in the woods?”

The scientist let out a gasp of astonishment.

“You mean Sawney and Beane?!” they asked, clearly mortified when he nodded, and the captain wondered why the fuck they had taken the time to catch and name titans instead of rescuing him from the fucking forest.

“But Erwin!! They’re my little babies! Sure, they might still try to bite me sometimes, but they’re just going through a bit of a rough patch! Please don’t make Eren kill them!!”

The brunette, who had been relatively silent during the whole interaction, perked up at the sound of his name. Or maybe at the idea of killing titans, Levi wasn’t fully sure.

“Hange,” the commander sighed, exasperated, “it’s a choice between two titans that you’ve already collected heaps of data from, and Eren, who you have practically nothing on. Plus, only one of them can talk, so take your pick.”

They hesitated for a second, but quickly agreed once Levi gave them a pointed glare. He scoffed at the fact that they had even considered taking literal monsters over Eren, especially when they had been so eager to study him.

“Alright, go ahead and get them ready, say your goodbyes, whatever you want. In the meantime, Eren, I realize that I haven’t asked you how you feel about any of this, and I’d hate for you to think that I don’t value your opinion on the matter.”

The shifter nodded excitedly, a huge grin spreading over his face.

“I’m completely fine with killing some titans,” he started, voice slowly becoming less and less energetic, “but, uh, I’m not… really looking forwards to having to move. Sasha seemed really nice yesterday, but everyone else would know Scout things, and I don’t.”

“That’s understandable, but there’s more than enough time for you to learn the basics. If Petra and the others’ reports are anything to go by, I’d guess that you’re in great physical condition, and that you already have a handle on fighting, even if it’s not with swords. Most of what Levi has to teach you will be strategy and how to use the ODM gear.”

Eren nodded again, confidence returning to his expression. The commander tended to have that effect on people, which was probably one of the reasons he had made it to the top.

“Let’s get going before Shitty Glasses changes their mind about who they’re keeping,” Levi said, gently dragging the brunette out the door, prompting Erwin to follow.

They made their way towards Hange’s lab, and the captain was suddenly incredibly grateful for the pain medication that the scientist had given him. It was a longer walk then he’d remembered, which unfortunately meant both more pain and more people to stare at them. 

Even with the riot the day before, there were plenty of green-cloaked Scouts milling around, probably to enjoy the nice weather or to spend their precious free time with friends. It was one of the first lessons that any military member learned, to treasure nice things while they were there, because you never knew if you would live to see it again.

When they did finally arrive outside of the sprawling area that was collectively labelled as ‘The Testing Zone’, they were greeted by a crying Hange, who was practically in hysterics as they babbled about their “children”. The four of them walked into the first tent, which contained a ton of random junk that were supposedly all implements of science. There was also a tank for the scientist’s pet rats, Bandi and Cota, who were chittering at the new arrivals.

Levi’s squad was there too, probably to help in case things got out of hand.

“Are we sure this is safe?” Petra asked, a bit of concern edging into her voice, “I mean, not about the killing part, but what if someone sees? I don’t know if I could deal with a riot for two days in a row…”

Hange sobbed bitterly.

“No one can look over the wall. I made it to block out the sun, so it’s quite a few meters high…”

Nobody there really understood exactly why the Section Commander was so attached to _titans_ , of all things, but most of them chalked it up to their mild insanity. They had always had a screw loose, at least as far as any of them could remember, but the Scouts were all oddballs of one sort or another, so it didn’t really matter in the long run.

“Alright then,” Erwin said, clapping his hands to regain everyone’s attention, “Let’s start the fight. The rest of you may have already seen this, so don’t spoil anything for me.”

A few of them laughed nervously, still not sure whether or not it was safe to let flesh-seeking monsters loose inside of an enclosed environment, especially not when they were currently _in_ that environment.

Eren stepped outside of the back-tent flap, prompting the others to follow him into the field where the titans were bound in some kind of retractable rope.

“Oh Walls, I can’t watch!” Hange cried, even as they hit the button that released the titans from their bindings.

Immediately, they started grabbing for the humans, who scattered to the outskirts of the courtyard. Levi watched as Eren rushed forwards, grabbing the attention of both monster and human alike.

He transformed instantly, switching to his bird form with a bright flash. Beane tried to swat him down like a fly, only to have the shifter deer-kick him on the arm.

Levi had watched Eren do something similar two days before, but this time he had actually aimed the kick instead of putting blind power into it. The strike landed on the titan’s forearm, and the entire fucking limb just fell, hanging limply at Beane’s side.

He heard a sob escape from Hange’s chest, and looked across the field to see that they were somehow both crying and taking notes at the same time.

When he turned his attention back to the fight, he saw that Eren had managed to take out both of Sawney’s legs, but there was no blood anywhere. In fact, it looked like the titan had just collapsed, as if his legs had decided to take the day off.

With both of the glassy-eyed monsters partially paralyzed, the shifter raked his talons into their backs, creating gruesome popping sounds as the tendons and nerves were severed. He finished killing them quickly, not even giving them a chance to heal before slicing their napes clean off.

Petra made a noise that was half awe and half terror, and Levi couldn’t help but relate. Even in the darkened, confining environment, Eren still managed to make death look like both a wild, feral game and a precise, deadly work of art. 

After ensuring that the titans had no chance of being alive, he returned to the front part of the enclosure, landing with a bright flourish as he reverted back to a human. His face split open into a wide, dazzling grin, accompanied by exclamations in the strange forest-language that he knew.

Hange, who was still crying, reminded him that he had to concentrate on specifically shifting his vocal cords in order to speak properly. After a moment of furrowed eyebrows and clenched jaws, he let out a shout of sheer adrenaline and pride. Levi couldn’t stop the slight twitch of his lips as Erwin congratulated the brunette on his work.

“So what happened with that… kick thing?” Eld asked, “It was like the whole arm shut down, and then both of the legs. I didn’t even know titans could take damage without swords.”

Eren smirked, obviously delighted that he knew something that the others didn’t.

“Here, give me your arm, I’ll show you.”

Eld hesitated for a moment before extending his hand towards the shifter, who pressed down on the same spot from the fight, causing the Scout to yelp in pain.

“If you hit it hard enough, the arm not only becomes temporarily paralyzed, but it also makes the hand open up, so it drops whatever it’s holding,” Eren explained, voice buzzing with barely contained glee, “I can fix it, if you want.”

“Yes please, that really hurts,” he passed his limb back over, or tried to at least, and let out an audible sigh of relief when the shifter rubbed the nerve back into place.

To say that they were all impressed was an understatement. Even Hange, who was still sniffling slightly, was furiously writing in a notebook.

“That was quite a show you put on,” Erwin said, chuckling slightly as the brunette practically bounced from the praise. “Are there more points like that? It would be a great help if soldiers could disable titans while others took them out.”

Eren nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, there’s a lot actually! And, since they don’t actually damage the muscle or skin, it doesn’t heal quickly like a normal injury!”

The commander tilted his head, clearly attempting to decide whether or not to keep asking questions. Fortunately, the decision was made for him when midday bells began chiming from the church in the city.

“Thank you, Eren, for the demonstration and for sharing your knowledge, but I’d say that your new Corps has waited long enough to meet their new arrival.”

Levi grabbed the shifter’s sleeve, dragging him out of the tent. He knew that he probably wouldn’t leave willingly. Hell, he’d nearly put up a fight even as he was literally pulled from the courtyard.

“Come on brat, you’ve been putting this off for long enough,” he sighed, ignoring the protests coming from the brunette.

“Let’s go meet your new _friends_ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Bandicota is the name (i think the genus, right? biology taught me jack shit) of the bandicoot rat, and i thought it was a cute name so now Hange has rats named Bandi and Cota!! Also i'm sorry that this chapter wasnt the best in terms of plot development, I just wanted to make eren fight some titans again lmao.
> 
> Love y'all and thanks for reading, MatchstiQs :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MASSIVE FUCKING ANGST ALERT 
> 
> This chapter isn't quite as long as the others, but it's one of the better ones so far, imho. Basically, Eren gets introduced to the 104th. It goes about as well as one would expect, which is a nice way to say that it goes up in fucking flames.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> \- graphic descriptions of a panic attack/past trauma/repressed shit
> 
> \- brief mentions of pain, injury, and death
> 
> \- a lot of yelling and fighting, along with copious uses of swear words

The newest recruits were always put the furthest from the center of HQ, for some weird, sadistic reason. Older Scouts, if there was such a thing, apparently wanted to make the younger ones suffer through the same trek that they did, which was a cycle that had gone back for as long as the Regiment existed.

It was for this reason that it took nearly an hour for them to get there, and a large part of it was because Levi was too stubborn to call his horse. This meant that there was a lot of bickering between the pair about whether or not they should rest at various points, with Eren threatening multiple times to pick the captain up. However, any time he attempted it, he was met with both verbal and physical resistance, mostly consisting of halfhearted insults and reflexive elbowing.

When the pair did finally arrive outside of the barracks, they were greeted by the Scout from the previous day. Sasha, Eren had said, or maybe Sarah. Whatever, it had started with an ‘Sa’ sound, and Levi generally called all of the new recruits various insults, depending on how much they annoyed him.

Ponytail Girl (yeah, it wasn’t the most inventive, but it would have to do) saluted them as they walked up, a nervous smile on her face.

“Hello Captain Levi! We, uh, weren’t expecting you so early, so its… a bit of a mess inside, sorry. Additionally, about half of them still don’t even know you’re coming because they’ve been doing chores all day,” she said, eyes darting around anxiously.

The first thing he picked up on, besides her obvious distress, was that she sounded almost ridiculously formal. Normally, he’d blame it on either the anxiety or that she was trying to impress a superior officer, but it just sounded…off. It seemed more like she was used to speaking like this, but that she hadn’t grown up with the dialect, so she clearly wasn’t some noble family’s rebellious child. Levi was almost intrigued, but then he reminded himself that there was no reason to get himself attached to a gaggle of brats, even if Eren was about to become one of them.

“Oi, Birdbrain, you do realize that you have to actually enter the building, right?” he muttered, gently shoving the shifter towards the propped-open door.

Eren hesitated, clearly still not prepared to be thrust into a whole new social situation, but eventually followed Ponytail inside of the brightly lit building. Levi started to turn away, ready to leave the brunette in order to head back to central HQ, (definitely not to sulk in his room) but was promptly pulled backwards by the hood of his cloak.

“Nope,” the shifter said, refusing to let go even as the captain protested loudly, “Mr. Eyebrows said you’re in charge of me now, so you can’t leave. Suffer with me.”

Levi sputtered, mostly because Eren had called Erwin “Mr. Eyebrows”, but also at the fact that he had literally just been dragged into a building, by one of the few people that he thought he could trust.

He continued being yanked through a noisy hallway, despite his many efforts to untie his stupid fucking cloak strings. Echoes of laughter and yelling could be heard through the walls of the corridor, quickly growing louder as they continued to approach whatever the main room was. It had been years since Levi had been in one of the new recruit barracks, so he had basically no memory of the layout.

They passed into an even louder and brighter space, which quickly fell silent when they walked in. Eren finally released him when they entered, before attempting to hide behind the slightly taller Scout, who was glowering as he turned to face the inhabitants of the building. They were all standing frozen in place, gaping at the captain as he brushed off imaginary dirt from his clothing in an attempt to look nonchalant.

“Sasha, what the f- uh, I mean, g-greetings, Captain Levi,” one of them said, a kid with a buzzcut who was looking like he was about to shit himself.

“Yeah…” Ponytail sighed, before straightening her posture and clearing her throat, “Everyone, this is Eren, and Captain Levi, apparently. I didn’t get the chance to tell some of you, but it’s _your_ fault for getting yourselves stuck on laundry duty. Anyways, Eren, is, uh, a special case I guess, so Commander Erwin assigned him to stay with us for the time being. Be nice.”

Nobody said anything, which was several different shades of awkward.

Eventually, one of them stood up, a blonde girl who he vaguely recognized somewhere in the back of his mind. She squeaked something about getting the last two members of the group, before darting out of the room.

“Wow, you brats are the most boring people I’ve seen in years if you’re this fucking quiet all the time,” Levi snorted, attempting to break the terrified silence that had fallen over the still frozen room.

The blonde girl returned, with two bickering people following her. One of them, a girl wearing a red scarf, looked unsettlingly familiar, even more than Blondie. She was carrying some sort of food container as she walked, arguing with someone on her left.

The sudden quiet that she had walked into made her look around wildly in confusion, until her eyes skimmed across Eren, who was still halfway behind Levi, trying to avoid everyone’s stares.

There was a loud shattering sound as she dropped whatever she was holding, eyes going wide. She rushed forwards, slipping past the captain as if he wasn’t even there, much to his combined surprise and annoyance. The person she had been arguing with followed her, looking just as shocked.

Levi’s first reaction was to yank them both away from the suddenly very confused-looking Eren, and yell at them for being so close, but he never got the chance to, because the girl started literally sobbing into the shifter’s chest.

“I thought you were dead, you fucking idiot!” she yelled, making everyone jump as they watched in horror.

“Uhhhhhh,” Eren said, rather sheepishly, eyes practically begging the captain to help, “who are you?”

Red Scarf pulled back abruptly.

“Who am I?! The fuck?! Eren, it’s me!”

For some reason, her words pissed Levi off, a lot.

“Hey,” he snapped, scowling angrily when she turned to him with an equally menacing glare, “leave him alone, can’t you see he’s fucking terrified?”

“Who the fuck are you and why do you know my brother?”

The other Scouts started to back away in fear. A thick, angry tension filled the air as they continued arguing, stormcloud colored eyes clashing against ones made of pure quicksilver.

“If he’s somehow your fucking brother, which he’s _clearly_ not, why the fuck did you leave him to die on his own when Maria Fell?!?”

She was taken aback at that, and some of the murderous energy ebbed, right before returning in full force, making some of the others gasp audibly when she curled her hands into fists.

“Because I didn’t have a fucking choice!! I don’t give two shits how highly you’re ranked or how many things you’ve killed, if you think for one fucking SECOND that I didn’t try and save him after he ran off, titans will be the least of your fucking worries! My brother fucking DIED in front of me, and I’m not letting it happen again!”

It was Levi’s turn to be stunned, and his gaze unconsciously shifted to Eren, who was standing deathly still, wearing an all too familiar, haunted look on his suddenly pale face. The sheer rage that the captain felt subsided, giving way to concern for the terrified looking brunette. 

He reached around the still fuming girl in front of him and grabbed the shifter’s sleeve, pulling him out of the room and into the hallway.

“Hey,” he muttered, placing a hand on the clearly traumatized boy’s cheek to grab his attention, “c’mon brat, talk to me.”

Eren’s green eyes met his, tears forming at the corners.

“L-levi, she- Mikasa- Armin- mom-”

He broke down into sobs, breathing becoming way faster than it should have been. Levi recognized it immediately as a panic attack, and his own chest started hurting with an emotion that he couldn’t name.

“Shit, Eren, I need you to calm down, okay? We’re gonna go outside, away from everyone else, but I need you to breathe, got it?”

The shifter nodded numbly, trying to get a decent amount of air into his lungs as the captain gently tugged his wrist, leading him towards the door. About 45 minutes had passed since they went inside, and the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, turning the clouds a pale pink.

They sat down right outside of the door, with Eren’s back pressed against the stone wall as he struggled to control his breathing.

“Listen, I need you to count with me, and try and breathe with the numbers, all right?” Levi asked, trying to keep his own heartbeat from racing.

“Okay, in for one, two, three, four, then out for five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.”

Eren did as he was told, and attempted to follow the rhythm, but he rushed through the exhale and collapsed back into tears. The captain panicked slightly, not knowing what else he could do. The breathing pattern normally worked when he would wake up gasping from the occasional nightmare, so he had never bothered to learn any other ways to regulate, which he was now regretting.

‘ _What would Hange do?_ ’ he thought, desperately trying to think how the scientist would calm someone down. Maybe another type of rhythm would work?

He realized that he was still holding the shifter’s wrist, and decided that he could use that. Gently, he moved Eren’s hand over his chest, pressing his superheated palm against Levi’s much calmer heartbeat.

After a terrifying moment, the brunette managed to take a somewhat deep breath, even if it was a bit strangled. Still, it was a start, and eventually his breathing was less choking and more even-sounding inhalations, followed by shaky exhalations.

At some point, Levi registered that the girl he had been arguing with was watching them, torn between starting another fight and leaving them alone. He ignored her, instead focusing on making sure that Eren wasn’t in danger of suffocating. She left after a few minutes, returning inside without saying a word.

Once he was completely positive that the shifter wouldn’t immediately relapse, he released his grip on the other’s wrist. However, the press of a hand on his pulse point remained, as if Eren was too scared to let go.

“Thank you, Levi,” he exhaled, still shaking slightly as he stared at the ground, “C-can I tell you what happened? Or what I remember?”

The captain felt a sudden tightness in his chest, making his heart feel like it was folding in on itself.

“Only if you want to,” he whispered, not daring to make his voice any louder than it had to be.

“I, um, can’t recall much. It’s like the memories are locked up and I can’t find them. There are pieces though, little things, like names and stuff. Mikasa, that’s the girl that was yelling, I think she was my adopted sister, or maybe just my friend. There’s Armin, the one who has blonde hair. I remember fighting people for him, but I wasn’t very good at it. And my mom-”

His voice broke at the end of the last sentence as he choked back a sob.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Levi said, trying to put as much comfort in the words as he knew how, “You don’t have to say everything right now. Hell, it’s perfectly fine if you never tell me at all, if you want to do that.”

Eren shook his head and took another shaky breath before continuing, desperately avoiding the captain’s eyes.

“I watched my mom get killed. By a titan. It’s the longest memory I have. S-she got trapped under the house when the earthquake hit. One of her friends who worked in Garrison tried to pull me and Mikasa away, but he couldn’t catch me. I remember- watching her get- get _eaten_ as I ran to save her. Then there was this bright flash, followed by nothing. That’s it. The next thing I knew, I was in our tree, alone, and my head was hurting.”

His voice had changed from desolate to numb as he spoke, like he was shutting his emotions off altogether. He slumped over even further when he finished, head falling onto where his hand was resting over Levi’s ribcage.

“Shit, Eren, I’m sorry. It- well it sounds completely horrible, to be honest,” the captain said, unsure whether he should hold the brunette or just let him lie there.

A long moment passed, but the silence wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable in any way.

“Hey, do you think you could punch me?”

Levi yelped in surprise at the strange request, and the shifter laughed slightly.

“You know, so that it looks like we fought instead of me crying my eyes out on you. Gotta make a good first impression, right?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure your chance at a ‘good first impression’ is over,” the captain chuckled, lightly flicking Eren’s ear, “And no, I wont punch you, you fuckin’ idiot.”

“Damn.”

They both laughed together, causing the slight tension to evaporate from the air.

“Tell you what, I can take you back inside so you can try again, and then I’ll go back to my room to get your books. That sound like enough of a re-do for your picky ass?”

Eren nodded, then pulled himself away from Levi, who stood up before offering him a hand. He grabbed it and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet, stumbling slightly before standing upright. 

They walked inside for the second time, and silently made their way through the halls. Between the captain’s natural tendency towards stealth and Eren’s unnaturally light footsteps, they walked to the main room completely undetected.

Apparently, they could have rode horses through the halls with the same results, because there was another screaming match going on inside.

“Mikasa, he’s a hecking Captain! He could court-martial all of us in two seconds if he felt like it, you fricking idiot!”

The voice belonged to the blonde kid from before, not the girl, but the one Eren had said was his friend.

“You say that like I give a fuck!” Red Scarf, no, _Mikasa_ , yelled back, arms crossed over her chest, “He could be the fucking King for all I care! It doesn’t change the fact that he’s dangerous, and I’m not letting him anywhere near my fucking brother!!”

The other members of the Corps were all huddled together at one table, heads turning back and forth between the two as if they were watching the world’s most intense sports match.

“He’s my friend too!! The three of us practically grew up together! Shouldn’t you just be happy that he’s alive?!?” 

“Of course I’m fucking _happy_ , Armin!! I’d also like him to stay that way, and I’ll do whatever the fuck it takes to make sure that happens!”

Eren shifted uncomfortably at Levi’s side, hesitant to step between the two of them while they were fighting, which was completely understandable. Unfortunately, that meant that Levi would have to do it, and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to stay impartial long enough to pull it off.

“Oi, brats,” he yelled, making everyone’s attention turn to him, “If you’d pull your heads out of your asses, maybe you’d be able to see that both of us are right fucking here.”

Murder-Scarf (yeah, that name was clearly way better than whatever her parents had given her) marched up to Eren and dragged him away by his wrist, all while glaring at the captain like she was plotting his death, which she probably was. Levi had to consciously ignore the fact that every bone in his body was urging him to grab the shifter’s other hand and yank him back to him, to where he _belonged_.

She started fussing over him almost immediately, and if the brunette hadn’t already confirmed that she was his sister, the way she was looking at him would have convinced him of it. The captain had never had siblings, but he had a feeling that if he did, they would be a lot like that. He pushed down a memory that he’d thought he had gotten rid of, one filled with green eyes and spiky pigtails. There had already been enough trauma for one day.

“I’m going to go get his crap from Central, so don’t kill each other while I’m gone,” he said, turning to leave, “Oh, and Birdbrain? If you say shit about fuck, the jacket threat still stands, so be careful what you tell them, brat.”

With that not quite friendly reminder, he walked away, already dreading the long trek back to his room.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

His knee was killing him by the time he got to his room, and the now-purpling sky wasn’t helping either. In fact, since the loss of the sun meant that it was colder, the mostly-healed joint was inflamed by the sudden stiffness of the muscles around it.

He let out a groan of pain as he flopped onto his bed, exhausted from the long walk. It had been a stupid idea to not call Amelie for a ride, and he immensely regretted the decision.

An even bigger part of him was also aching, but this pain had nothing to do with physical injury, no matter how much he tried to tell himself it did. Unfortunately for him, this was not the case, and he found himself feeling like he had been hollowed out with a spoon. The sensation, he assumed, was similar to a pumpkin being carved for All Hallows’ Eve, or maybe like someone drinking all the soup from a bread bowl without eating it. 

Food metaphors aside, it all boiled down to one thing: a piece of him was missing, and he had no idea where it had run off to.

Desperate for a distraction, he took some of the painkillers that Hange had given him, before grabbing all of Eren’s books from a shelf, as well as the extra clean clothes that he had gotten on the first day. He loaded them all into a satchel, then hesitated when he realized that he could fit at least one more thing.

After a moment of thought, he put in his favorite cloak, the grey one with his name embroidered on the right shoulder. He knew that it was more than stupid, and that it would probably piss Mikasa off to no end, but in his eyes that was a bonus. Plus, the idea of Eren wearing one of his favorite articles of clothing made him smile slightly, although he wasn’t sure exactly why.

Once he was satisfied that he had gotten everything, he made his way over to the stables, because he sure as hell wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. Amelie was waiting in her normal stall, whinnying excitedly when she saw him approach. He opened the door, letting her trot out, then got on her back, deciding that he wouldn’t need the saddle for such a relatively short trip.

The journey wasn’t so bad when he could travel it without wanting to chop off his leg. In fact, he found himself enjoying it slightly, even if it was a rather boring trail. Still, the cool air felt nice on his face, and the slight breeze was enough to keep him awake as he once again approached the barracks.

When he arrived, he took notice of the laughter and talking coming through the now-opened windows, as well as the scent of food, which was absolutely heavenly, seeing as he hadn’t eaten since that morning. He was conflicted between feeling either relieved or disappointed that the place hadn’t gone to shit when he left. 

On one hand, it meant that Eren had made new friends despite the rocky start, but on the other it meant that Eren had made _new_ friends that weren’t _Levi_. 

He walked inside the hall once again, and made two left turns so that he was standing in the entryway of the main room, which was filled with smiles and jokes. It was a sharp contrast to the past two times he had been there, since he had gotten yelled at in both instances.

Eren’s head whipped around practically the second he set foot past the door, and he waved excitedly at the captain, grin becoming even wider than it already was. He was sitting in between his sister and Armin, one of whom glared murderously at Levi as he made his way over to them.

There was a moment of silence when he dropped himself next the brunette, separating him from his blonde friend.

“Oh relax,” he muttered, rolling his eyes in annoyance as he propped his chin on his fist, “I won’t bite your heads off unless you do something extremely stupid, so go back to whatever you were doing.”

The chatter quickly resumed, something about whether or not Sasha should keep stealing extra stuff from the kitchens. A few of them still glanced at him nervously from time to time, but he ignored them. Unless, of course, it was Murder Scarf, in which case he’d glare at her for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the thievery debate.

“If you brats want to obtain your ill-gotten goods without getting caught, it wouldn’t hurt for you to know that I broke the lock on the second floor window, the one with the yellow curtains,” he said, and Ponytail looked at him like he was a fucking god.

“Isn’t that, like, illegal or something?” one of them asked, and Levi recognized her as the blonde girl with a vaguely familiar face.

“Shut up Krista!” Buzzcut yelled, “It’s not illegal if nobody finds out!”

A chorus of “Yeah, _Krista_ ” made its way around the table, and the captain snorted from the sheer immaturity that they all had.

Maybe these brats weren’t so bad after all. Most of them, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I cried several times while writing this!! The Angst-brain went a little bit overboard here, but i think the comfort bit made up for it, at least partly. Also, whoever can spot my shitty attempts at foreshadowing gets a gold star and a high five from one of those sticky hands (from 6 feet away, for social distancing)!!
> 
> P.S: I'm sorry in advance if i can't update today (it's 1:48 AM where I am lmao) through the 26th, because Christmas is approaching rapidly, even though i gave up on perceiving the passage of time sometime around July.


	7. Chapter (not so lucky number) 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of training!! And the first chapter to have, gasp, romantic developments!! Unfortunately, they are both incredibly dense, so it's going to take a while for them to be not so dumb. Also featuring Hange, who is trying their damn best, and one very pissed off Mikasa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! Sorry this one is a bit shorter than the others, but i wanted to at least squeeze one chapter in before I'm forced to go to a small Family Function tomorrow. Or, uh, today, I guess, since It's now 3:51AM on the 25th.... welp, merry christmas to me! And the rest of you too!!! Happy holidays!!
> 
> Oh and warnings:
> 
> \- lots of cussing
> 
> \- a fight scene, but theres no blood
> 
> \- blindfolds?? if that counts?? It's not weird but still
> 
> \- shit ton of secondhand embarrassment.

Levi was having an existential crisis. In his room, no less, during the middle of the night.

He had left the brats soon after one of them had passed out at the table, some tall bastard named Reiner or something. The team had collectively decided that they should probably sleep, and the captain had found himself helping with cleanup, which was a complete pain in the ass because it seemed like none of the fucking idiots could wipe down a table to save their lives. It took a good hour of bossing them around before the place finally met his high standards, which meant that the younger Scouts all looked like they wanted to club him with a broom.

With the berating, sorry, the _cleaning_ out of the way, they made their way to the row of small rooms that were apparently where they slept. Eren had evidently claimed the one closest to the north-facing wall, probably since it had a window. The captain suspected that it would, at some point at least, be used as an escape hatch into the night sky.

“You brought all of my books right?” the shifter asked, sitting cross legged on his new bed, “Apparently, some of them are, uh, kinda illegal?”

“Yes, I brought all ten of your books, and yeah, I noticed. How did you even manage to get your hands on Pre-Walls shit?”

Eren shrugged.

“No idea, they were in the tree when I got there,” he sighed, rifling through the bag of his highly unlawful reading material.

A dazzling grin flashed on his face when he saw the cloak, and he pulled it out gently, like he was afraid of tearing it. Levi flushed, suddenly becoming very interested in a tree outside as his arms crossed over his chest defensively.

“It has your name on it…” Eren whispered, carefully running his fingers over the black stitches.

He looked up at the captain with a soft smile that felt like the world’s kindest stab in the chest. His green eyes sparkled as he hung the hood on his head, with the rest of the fabric pooling around his bent knees.

Levi was, for once in his life, utterly speechless. All of his insults and witty remarks had been suddenly evicted from his brain, as well as his memory of how to breathe for at least 3 seconds, which was a bit more concerning than his inability to speak.

“Thank you, Levi.”

“Sure…” he said, more than slightly stunned as he struggled to get air back into his lungs, “I’m- yeah. I’ll just uh… leave now. Got to… get back to my room and stuff. Sleep.”

Under normal circumstances, he would have punched himself for becoming a stuttering mess, especially over a fucking smile. There was absolutely no reason at all for him to turn into an absolute rambling disaster because someone had liked a present. Part of him wondered if this was how Hange felt all the time. Maybe he would ask them the next time they undoubtedly showed up to annoy him.

He cleared his head, or tried to at least, and turned to walk out of the small room, only to feel a hand encircle his wrist. Damn Birdbrain couldn’t even let him leave without attempting to commit murder.

“What is it now, brat?” he sighed, attempting to maintain at least some semblance of indifference in voice, which, ah, didn’t _quite_ work.

Eren pulled slightly, and tugged the captain into his arms, wrapping him in one of his intoxicatingly warm hugs. Walls, it had been, what, 14 hours since they had been in nearly that exact same position? It didn’t really matter the actual number, Levi decided as his thoughts raced, it had been way too long.

“Mikasa’s wrong about you,” the shifter mumbled, lips pressed into their usual spot on his collarbone, “You’re dangerous, I guess, but not to me. Never have been. She’ll realize that eventually.”

Once again, the brunette had managed to nearly kill him, and it took a solid minute for his brain to work properly. It was another 30 seconds before his vocal cords could function too, and even then his voice refused to become any louder than a whisper.

“I doubt that, Murder Scarf seems like a real piece of work. Anyways, we’ll see just how ‘not dangerous’ I am tomorrow, when I kick your ass during training.”

Eren laughed, and although he had the ability to do it the human way, it still sounded somewhat like a songbird’s call. It was light and melodious, like the air that came from his lungs had been transferred in from a springtime field.

After a moment of hesitation, they separated, and Levi turned to leave, for real this time. The shifter let him, despite the disappointed sigh he let out as he watched him retreat back down the hall. There was a quiet click that echoed through the building as he shut his door, blocking the moonlight that had been seeping in through the window.

The captain was alone for the first time in nearly a month.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After returning to Central and leaving Amelie in the stables, he wandered to his room, desperately trying to escape the sinking feeling of ‘oh shit’ that was slowly settling in his mind. It was dark out, and the wind had become bitingly cold, which was more than enough of an excuse for him to be laying under 7 blankets.

He definitely wasn’t sulking in the middle of the night. That would be childish and immature. As a Captain, he was neither of these things, or at least he wasn’t supposed to be.

It took a solid 30 minutes of “self-reflection” before he got bored, which was a new record. Thankfully, he was used to the occasional bout of insomnia, so he knew that the best way to occupy himself was with cleaning.

He started with the bathroom, scowling as he mopped the floor. The tiles were still slightly slick from Eren’s disaster shower earlier, and the Scout smiled slightly at the memory. Now, the 104th would have to deal with his idiocy, an idea that was both relieving and somehow disappointing.

Levi decided to purposely ignore whatever conflicting emotions he had, which he did by turning his focus onto eradicating any speck of dirt or dust that dared to oppose him.

After the bathroom was quite literally sparkling, he started to work on dusting every square inch of any flat surface he could find. This included bookshelves, chests, tabletops, and the window blinds. Hell, he had even stood on a chair to reach the top of his wardrobe, and then had dusted the chair too when he was done using it as a stepstool. 

It was only after he had finished battling the dust bunnies underneath his bed that he realized that someone was watching him from his door, which he had forgotten to lock. 

“What do you want, Four Eyes?” he huffed, waving his feather duster menacingly as they grinned at him, clearly trying not to laugh.

“I figured you’d be grumpy,” they said, “but _Walls_ , this is something else, Levi! You haven’t cleaned this obsessively in _years_!!”

The captain glared at them before turning back to reorganize his nightstand for the third time. He noticed a small note with Eren’s name on it peeking out of the top drawer, and slipped it into his pocket before Hange could snatch it up.

“Come onnnnnn! You can’t internalize this forever!! I have tea!”

He sighed, then set down his weapon of dust destruction before walking over to accept the teacup from the scientist’s hands. If there was one thing that Hange really excelled at, other than being insane, it was making really fucking good tea.

“Fine, whatever,” he muttered, sitting on his bed as he blew on the still steaming liquid, “But this is just normal cleaning. I do it all the time, so fuck off with your psycho-analyzing bullshit.”

The scientist sighed dramatically, clearly not believing a single word he said.

“My sweet, murderous child, please, just tell me what’s wrong!! Erwin would hate for his top soldier, not to mention _friend_ to be losing sleep over something like feeeeeelings.”

“And this ‘top soldier’ says that you can burn in hell.” He glared at them over the brim of his teacup, “This isn’t a therapy session, Shitty Glasses, its me drinking tea at 2 in the morning.”

“It’s about Eren, isn’t it?”

Levi nearly spat out a perfectly good drink when they said that, and had to take a few moments so that he didn’t choke on the hot water.

“No, you fucking idiot, it’s not!” he sputtered, both because it was a shitty lie, and because he had spent the past hour trying to say the same thing to his own brain.

Hange leaned against the wall and stared at him, grinning slightly. It was truly unfair how much of a know-it-all they were, especially when they did, in fact, know it all, or a lot of it at least.

Suddenly, the captain had a huge interest in the ground tea leaves in the bottom of his cup. They were all pooled in the curved base, swirling slightly as he his chest rose and fell with his slightly too-fast breathing.

“It’s not…” he said again, but there was a lot less force in the words, like he was trying to convince himself instead of the scientist quietly judging him from the other side of the room.

“Fine, let me try this another way,” Hange sighed, walking over to sit next to the captain on his bed, “Are you glad that Eren’s moved elsewhere?”

“No.”

“Well then, how do you feel about it?”

Levi was quiet for a few minutes. He knew that could probably trust them, with most things at least. Unfortunately, they were a bit of a wildcard when it came to over-sharing, so it would be a huge risk if he told them that he had absolutely no fucking CLUE how he felt about being left alone again.

“Its going to be a pain in the ass to walk that far in the morning,” he muttered, after deciding that it was a safe enough sentence to say.

“Levi, you know that’s not what I meant.”

“Yeah, so? It’s an answer, and an honest one too.”

“Walls, I’m not asking you to write a poem about his cute green eyes or something!” they said, clearly exasperated, “Just say an emotion, it’s not that hard! There’s happy, sad, jea-”

“I don’t fucking know, okay?!?!”

He buried his face in his hands, desperately trying to return to his usual voice. The outburst was unexpected and slightly painful, especially for someone who was used to speaking either neutrally or angrily.

“Well,” Hange said, patting their friend lightly on the back, something that he usually would have hit them for, “that’s a start. We can continue to talk about this tomorrow, when you don’t look like you’re about to collapse.”

They got up and gently removed the teacup from where the captain had put it down beside him. He didn’t move to stop them, instead just nodding silently as he leaned back onto his blankets.

“Goodnight, Levi,” they murmured, closing the door behind them as they left.

Eventually, sometime after they had gone, the captain managed to finally drift off into a relatively peaceful sleep. He ignored the empty, hollow feeling as he laid beneath the covers. Even with all 7 of them, he was still cold, and despite his emotional confusion, one thing suddenly became abundantly clear.

He was _lonely_. Really, inescapably, horribly lonely. It hurt.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Dawn came relatively quickly, but this time, it felt like it could have dragged on for days without notice.

Levi was still cold when he woke up, right as the sun turned the sky a hazy purple-grey. Apparently, the weather had decided to be foggy today, which was honestly an excellent reflection of the captain’s mood.

He checked the clock hanging by his door, which told him that it was around 6 o’clock, give or take a couple minutes. Four hours of sleep was better than nothing, he supposed, and it was nothing that a cold shower and some walking around wouldn’t fix.

After bathing and dressing, he realized that he had only managed to use up another thirty minutes of time, so the Kitchens at central wouldn’t even be open for another half hour at least. Well, there went his breakfast plans, what a shame. He supposed that he would have to eat with the brats again, assuming Eren’s sister didn’t immediately kill him the moment he walked through the doors.

The thick fog was making it nearly impossible to see more than a half meter in front of him as he wandered outside, which set him slightly on edge. He still had a serious distrust for things that he couldn’t see through, and the suffocating haze definitely qualified as one of them.

By some miracle, he managed to get the stables, mainly by using the street signs that were topped by what appeared to be eerily floating oil lamps. Their flickering glow was downright terrifying thanks to the low visibility, but it was better than stumbling around aimlessly while trying to reach a destination that was nearly impossible to find.

“Amelie?” he called, trying to ignore the anxiety-inducing animal sounds coming from the stalls around him.

He nearly jumped when something warm and fuzzy brushed against his arm.

“Walls, you fucking scared me, Ame.”

There was a chuffing sound from his right, except it was by no means a sound that a horse would make.

His instincts immediately went on high alert, and his hand rested cautiously on the sheathed dagger that was almost always strapped to his belt.

“Who’s there?” he hissed, suddenly paranoid as the dense fog seemed to curl even closer to his face.

Another chuff, this time from his left, and it was followed by a noise he recognized, a laugh. Relief flooded through his body, and he released his grip on the weapon at his waist.

“Don’t fucking do that to me, Birdbrain,” the captain said, voice returning to his normal monotone as Deer-Eren’s antlers came into view, “and what did I fucking say about changing forms outside of serious emergencies?”

The shifter snorted as he pushed at Levi’s shoulder, clearly trying to tell him to get onto his back. He did, of course, because it was a much better option than trying to get to the barracks on his own.

Somehow, Eren could fucking see in this stupid cloud-ass shit, and he started trotting towards his new residence, occasionally pausing along the way, normally just as footsteps would cross in front of them.

“Why are you even up this early? You gotta rise with the sun or some shit now that I can’t wake you up?”

Levi tried to keep the slight bitterness out of his tone, he really did, but some of it still seeped through. Thankfully, the call of birds trying to navigate through the gloom meant that they were in the brief forest section of the trail, so no one but the two of them heard it.

Eren shook his head and let out a long puff of air, which kind of sort of resembled a sigh. The captain took it as an “I’ll tell you later, seeing as I cant talk right now,” which was fine by him.

They arrived at the dark and looming blob that appeared to be the barracks a few minutes later, and there were no lights on inside, which meant that nobody was awake except for the brat who was now de-transformed and standing next to him.

He tried to say something, but it came out slightly garbled, as if he were trying to speak from behind a wall with his mouth full. Levi watched him roll his eyes and focus before clearing his throat with a triumphant “Hah!”.

“For your information, Leeviiiii, I couldn’t sleep all night, so no, I didn’t rise with the sun,” he said, voice still fluctuating slightly as he tried to get it under control.

“Yeah, like the sun fucking rose anyway,” the captain snorted, gesturing to the fog around them, “But why the fuck didn’t you sleep, or try to at least? Do you want me to kick your ass in training later?”

The shifter sighed and started walking into the darkened halls of the building, navigating his way to the back door.

“You won’t be able to anyways, not with those really dark bags under your eyes,” he muttered, looking at him with slight concern.

“How did you even fucking see that?!”

Eren laughed, opening the door into the training area/mini stable behind the barracks.

“My bird vision has it’s perks, I guess. Seeing in the dark, noticing small things, weird colors that I can’t even begin to describe, all that stuff. Which makes it painfully obvious that I’m not the only one who was up last night.”

“You- fucking extra colors?!” the captain asked, extremely annoyed at just how fucking casually perfect this idiot was, “Goddamn freaky genes. Is there other weird shit you can do?”

“Mmmmmm… my sense of smell is pretty weird. And I can hear things that most people can’t, but only if I really concentrate. Theres more stuff, but I can’t really describe it.”

Levi glared at him, slightly pissed that he hadn’t said anything before, especially about having fucking night vision. Hange probably had a fucking field day with him, and they more than likely would end up having many more in the future. The thought made his already bad mood get even worse.

“Since both of us are up at this asinine hour, let’s start working on training early,” he grumbled, stretching his arms, “You apparently have a huge fucking advantage, so I’m gonna blindfold you to see what happens.”

The shifter’s head snapped up at that, clearly not liking the idea, but it was too late to protest, seeing as Levi was already tying something around his eyes.

“Maybe we should, uh wait? Like for the fog to clear, so that you can see and stuff? You might ge-”

He was cut off by a solid whack on his forehead, and the captain watched with a slight grin as his body shifted into combat mode.

“I can tell you’re beh-”

Once again, he was interrupted as Levi kicked him on the shoulder, flipping in mid-air over the brunette. He hit the ground with the almost-silent landing that he had mastered over years of practice.

Unfortunately, almost-silent wasn’t anywhere near quiet enough, especially at this range, and Eren darted towards him, somehow not completely clueless about his whereabouts.

The captain spun out of the way just in time, making his opponent skid slightly on the damp dirt beneath his feet. It was fascinating to watch him listen as a way of seeing, probably trying to find Levi’s heartbeat or footsteps as he walked through the ring of stones. However, the Scout had been learned how to make himself practically undetectable to both humans and titans, which was now making him moderately difficult for Eren to find.

However, Levi had forgotten that he, too, was effectively blindfolded in the mist, something that the shifter decided to take advantage of. He rushed to the side when the captain tried to knock him on the arm, not only using it as a dodge, but also as a way to disappear into the swirling fog, vanishing from sight.

‘ _Well shit,_ ’ Levi thought, eyes darting around for any sign of the now-invisible brunette.

There was a moment of silence and tension before he felt a puff of air start to blow across his face, but he knew that it was way too fucking late for him to move.

Eren managed to use the side of his hand to hit one of the stupid pressure points on the left side of his chest, right above where his rib cage ended.

The single hit was unfairly effective, and it knocked all of the air out of his lungs as he fell to the floor. His whole damn torso felt numb and tingly, so he knew that Eld hadn’t just been whining when he said that it hurt.

The shifter stood over him, grinning victoriously with his hands on his hips. He had taken the blindfold off and was now wearing it loosely around his neck.

“Fuck you,” the captain huffed, then yanked one of Eren’s legs out from under him, making him fall onto Levi’s already hurting chest, “and your fucking target hits.”

“Hey! I won!”

“You might have, if you didn’t decide to fuck up with that stupid victory stunt. Left me a huge ass opening.”

The shifter let out a long sigh, not moving from where he had collapsed.

“Fine, whatever. Draw then?”

“Yeah, su-”

Levi’s voice cut off as he sat up, concern written all over his face.

“Shit, I forgot about your fucking chest! I didn’t fuck that up any worse, right?”

Eren, who’s head was now on the ground after being rudely evicted from its resting place, looked up at him in confusion.

“ _My_ chest? Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“What?! No,” the captain said, instinctively placing his hand over the other’s ribcage, where he had been literally shot not even a week ago, “I meant from when you nearly fucking died and I had to save your ass!”

“Oh yeah, that’s fine. It’s been fine, actually.”

Levi stared down at him in utter disbelief, then rolled his eyes.

“Yeah right, brat. I saw how big that fucking bruise was,” he muttered, lightly flicking Eren’s forehead.

“No, seriously, I think the last of it healed up like two days ago?” the shifter assured him, unbuttoning part of his shirt to prove his point, “See? Nothing there.”

“What?! You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!!! So you can see in the damned dark, take _me_ down while fucking BLINDFOLDED, _and_ you have healing magic shit?! That’s so fucking unfair and perfect and stupid I-”

Eren burst out laughing at the captain’s distress.

“Fuck youuuuu,” he groaned, burying his face in his hands.

There was a crash and a yelp as something fell onto the ground behind them, surprising them both. They looked up to see a vague light through the slowly clearing gloom, meaning that there was a window open somewhere above them.

Standing up, the shifter looked intently at the source of the light, then paled slightly.

“Uh, how long have you guys been watching?” he asked sheepishly, and Levi suddenly felt some of the blood drain from his face too.

“A while, actually,” one of the voices called, possibly Ponytail’s, judging from the speech pattern, “Connie and I saw the whole thing though, because I dragged him in here when you two started fighting.”

This was very much not good news, for either of them.

“We were using spyglasses, but the annoying fog made it rather hard to see, and I accidentally dropped mine.”

The two on the ground exchanged worried glances, both wondering exactly how much they had seen and what they thought of it.

“How many of you brats are up there?” Levi yelled, “Those rooms are fucking tiny!”

“Uhhh, there’s me, I’m Sasha if you can’t see, Connie, Reiner, Armin, Krista, and Jean. Oh, and Mikasa just stormed out of the room so you might both want to start running.”

As if on cue, the door slammed open, and the captain could make out the vague shape of Murder-Scarf as she started to walk towards them.

“Eren, what did I fucking tell you?!” she shouted, trying to find their exact location, probably so she could kill Levi.

The shifter pulled him silently to hide behind a tree, both of them hoping to avoid being murdered. Unfortunately, Birdbrain managed to snap a damned twig with his foot, and this time they couldn’t hide fast enough.

Mikasa practically materialized in front of them, arms crossed over her chest as rage gleamed in her eyes.

“I told you to stay away from my fucking brother, not blindfold him and force him to fight you for some sadistic fun! You could have seriously hurt him!!”

Levi was about to snap something back, but he was interrupted by Eren stepping in between them, meeting his sister’s anger with his own. The quiet frustration and overall done-ness radiated off of him in waves.

“First of all, ‘Kasa, he would never force me to do anything,” he glared, leaning back against the captain in an almost protective manner, “Secondly, I can handle a bruise or two! Besides, I kicked his ass even with the blindfold on, and it was _fun!_ ”

“Bu-”

“ _Furthermore_ ,” he continued, talking over her objection, “He’s literally under _orders_ to train me and stuff, and even if he wasn’t, _I’d_ still want him here!”

Both of them were slightly taken aback at that, though it was mostly Levi. The last sentence echoed around his skull as he attempted to process it, but his brain felt like it had suddenly been turned to pudding.

“I would like for you two to get along, but since that’s probably not going to happen, I’d at least prefer it if you didn’t kill each other.”

There were several seconds of silence before Murder-Scarf looked like she wanted to commit a homicide, potentially on her own brother.

“Are you fucking crazy?! Did you hit your fucking head while you were fighting?!” she yelled, arms uncrossing so that she could shift her fists to her hips.

Eren glared at her before deliberately taking off his jacket and handing it to Levi, who stood there in confusion as the now-coatless shifter took off into the forest, disappearing into the mist.

Murder-Scarf gaped at the captain, eyes darting back and forth between him and the direction that her brother had run off in.

“He-” she stammered, shocked at something, but what that thing was, he had no idea, “You- Actually, no. Fuck this. I’m going back to bed and I’m going to pretend that he didn’t just fucking-UGH”

She cut off the last few words with a screech of frustration, turning on her heel before storming back into the barracks, leaving Levi very confused and slightly offended.

Today was not going well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah!! again sorry it's sort of short, but I hope you enjoyed it! Also Matchmaker Hange lives in my head rent free lmao.
> 
> Anyways, happy holidays/winter break/whatever to everyone!!! I'll see you whenever i can get the next chapter out!


	8. Chapter 8, or as I like to call it, Part 2 of Chapter 7!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * cue talk show host voice *  
> What happens after the fog-disaster? Where did Eren run off to and what happened to him? Does Mikasa commit homicide? Guess you'll just have to read to find out!!
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> \- HEAVY descriptions of injury and blood
> 
> \- ratsssssss heheheeeee
> 
> \- parental neglect (guess who? It's everyone's least favorite father!!!)
> 
> \- obscene amounts of fluff, but only after the pain
> 
> \- as always, you guessed it folks, cussing!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm backkkkkkk!! I managed to survive an incredibly exhausting holiday without my laptop! Don't really know how, but hey I'm here and once again posting from wayyyy too early in the morning, in my time zone at least. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the Cute Shit that comes after The Ouch, because I had a lot of fun writing it. (And i learned a bunch of cool shit about birds, so hell yeah!!!)

Levi decided that fog was now the worst thing to exist in all of time and space.

Titans? Annoying, but killable. Religious freaks? Slightly more annoying, but they didn’t crave his flesh, so not as deadly. Hell, even Hange rambling about their stupid science stuff was better than this fucking grey ass bullshit.

In terms of weather, he found that only some of it pissed him off. Snow was cold and annoying, but fine to look at, he supposed. Rain was tolerable, soothing even, and thunderstorms were even better. Super-sunny days, although pretty rare this time of year, were actually rather pleasant. At this point, he would literally prefer gale force winds, one of his _least_ favorite conditions to be outdoors in, than the dismal mist that just wouldn’t fucking burn off.

It took a full 2 hours of wandering blindly through the small forest that somewhat secluded the 104th’s barracks before he decided to leave Birdbrain and his stupidly perfect senses alone. Thankfully, the brats made such an obscene amount of noise and light that it was easy to return to the stone building, even with the incredibly low visibility.

A few of them waved when he walked in, but most of them tried to flee when they caught sight of his scowling face. On the bright side, if there was one in these horrid conditions, Murder-Scarf was nowhere to be seen, probably because she had made true on her words and gone back to bed after causing her brother to run off into the cloud-infested woods.

Eren’s other friend, (what was his name? Arm-boy?) however, was sitting at a table inside and browsing through an apparently fascinating book. He looked up when the captain made his way into the common room, eyes going wide when he saw the coat that Levi had draped over his shoulders.

As much as he didn’t particularly want to talk to another potential genius/lunatic, seeing as the last one had made him literally scream in frustration, there wasn’t much choice if he wanted to get answers as to what the fuck had happened earlier that morning. Arm-boy would have to do then, and the captain hoped that he wouldn’t have a migraine by the end.

He sat down on the other side of the table from the blonde, propping his chin on his fist as he looked at the upside-down book that the other was reading. As a Scout, he had gotten used to seeing things from multiple different angles, thanks to his ODM expertise, so he managed to decipher a solid chunk of the pages as they were flipped through. From what he could tell, it was a book about mythology and religion in the Old Cultures, which was in the grey-zone of not quite being illegal, seeing as it was heritage, even if it contained information that was definitely Pre-Walls.

Some of the phrases were confusing and foreign, like “ritual witchcraft”, “faeries”, and “elemental/natural centralization of beliefs.” There were also tons of names that he couldn’t understand, so when you put it together it seemed like an entirely new language, one which Levi did not comprehend in the slightest.

At some point, after there was a name with weird symbols in it, the captain gave up and just asked what the fuck the book was talking about. The blonde looked up in surprise at the sudden question, clearly having forgotten that there was even another person at the table with him.

“Hello, Captain! I, uh, didn’t realize you were reading.” His eyes darted across the page nervously, not wanting to look up at the intimidating presence in front of him.

“Yeah,” Levi snorted as he attempted to make himself less terrifying, “Must be a shock that I’m literate, huh?”

Bookworm/Arm-boy looked up at him, face paling in panic.

“No! I didn’t mean it like that, I’m so sorry!”

“Relax, brat, I was joking,” the captain sighed, “Seriously though, the fuck is going on in that absolute mountain of pages?”

The blonde flipped to the front cover, using a finger as a bookmark to keep his place before he turned it around to display the artwork and title.

“A Study in Cultural Mythology and the Effects it has on the Natural Environment, By Grisha Yeager,” he read, nail tracing over the embossed outline of a forest as excitement sparkled in his sky-blue eyes.

Levi’s brain fell into a free fall at the author’s name. He recognized it, but the memory of where he had heard it before was vague and distant, like it was eluding him every time he tried to find it. Unfortunately, his gut was telling him that it was an important thing to know, so he asked about it.

Bookworm’s face fell at that, and he closed the book, setting it aside with a grim expression.

“Grisha Yeager was Eren’s father,” he said, keeping his voice low so that he wouldn’t attract more attention than necessary, which was dumb, considering they were alone.

“Was? Did he die?”

“No, or as far as I know,” the blonde answered as his eyes darted around, probably to keep watch for either of his childhood friends, “The last time Mikasa or I saw him was Eren’s 12th birthday, about a month before Maria’s Fall.”

The captain was now incredibly curious, and leaned forwards intently as Armin continued.

“He was a scientist and a doctor, so he was normally gone for weeks at a time, but he had made sure to be there for his son’s birthday, even if it was only for a day. He just popped in, stole Eren away from the party for a talk, and then left him with that coat you’re currently wearing. Still, something weird happened in the short time he was there, and I’ve been trying to find out what ever since Eren’s been gone. It was as closure, I guess, but now that I know he’s alive, it’s more like a mystery to solve,” he finished, before shrugging as if he hadn’t just said something extremely creepy.

It took a solid minute for Levi to process that information, and it left him with more questions than answers. Mainly, he wondered if Eren’s father had somehow fucked with his own son’s genetics, an idea that absolutely pissed him off. He made a metal note to tell Hange about the development the next time he saw them.

Before he could open his mouth to ask for more info on Eren’s past, Ponytail walked over to the table he was at and informed him that the fog had lessened slightly, but not all the way. Levi looked over the window and noticed that he could now make out individual leaves on a few of the trees, which was a definite improvement.

“Well, guess I’m gonna go look for that fucking idiot,” the captain sighed, standing up from the chair he had been sitting at.

“I’ll come with you,” Armin agreed, even as Levi glared at him, “It’ll be quicker if more people are looking for him.”

The two stared at each other for a long moment, both clearly set on finding the missing shifter.

“Fine, whatever, but you have to do as I say. There’s shit that you brats aren’t high enough to do or know.”

The blonde nodded, determination radiating off of him in waves. He was clearly just as protective of Eren as his sister was, but he had a MUCH more level head about it, which was appreciated. Things always went better when one half of a search party wasn’t trying to kill the other, in Levi’s opinion.

“Captain, do you want any of us to join you?” Ponytail asked, rushing to keep up with him as he made his way to the backdoor again.

“No, just Bookworm here is fine,” he ignored Armin’s protests at his new nickname, pushing into the slightly less fogged-over forest, “None of you could be fucking stealthy to save your lives.”

She nodded quietly and retreated back into the building, leaving the other two alone in the mist.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It took fucking forever (it actually took maybe 30 minutes or so, but the fog made time perception nearly impossible) to find even one trace of the shifter, and Levi swore that when he did eventually find him, he would berate him within an inch of his idiotic life. And, if the slightly annoyed tone that had crept into the blonde’s voice as they searched was anything to go by, he would be justified in doing so.

However, the plans to nearly murder Birdbrain over his stupidity were put on hold when he spotted a small pile of terrifyingly familiar red-brown feathers. This was more than enough cause for immediate concern to wash over the captain, much to Armin’s confusion.

He bent down to grab one, holding it up to the rather small sliver of the sun that was now visible. There was a sticky feel to it, and he grimaced as his fingers came away stained with red.

‘ _Shit_ ,’ he thought, glancing over at the clueless Scout on his right, ‘ _If Eren’s hurt, does it qualify as enough of an emergency for me to tell this brat about his powers? Erwin would be extremely pissed, but he’s his friend, so I think he could keep a secret…_ ’

His mental debate was interrupted by a piercing, terrified screech that echoed through the forest, causing both of them to flinch. It was an all-too recognizable mix of human and animal, which would have been extremely creepy to anyone but Levi. Instead, it made him absolutely fucking panic.

Already running in the direction that the noise had come from, he tried to listen for any more familiar sounds, hoping to find the shifter before something incredibly bad happened.

“Captain!” Armin yelled, trying to catch up as he darted through the trees, “What’s going on?! That didn’t sound like Eren, why are we running towards it?”

Levi ignored him, instead muttering a steady stream of curses under his breath while he continued sprinting. There were more falcon-like feathers on the ground, which he used as a trail, even as they made him worry.

There was another sound, but this one was much closer and seemed more like a whine rather than a shriek. Worse, there was a small puddle of blood pooled in the dirt at his feet, and a still-drying streak leading away from it.

“Armin,” the captain said, making the blonde look up from the red puddle that he had been staring at in horror, “Stay here unless I tell you to come to me.”

He didn’t protest, not that it would matter if he did, and Levi left to follow the alarming trail of blood and scuffed dirt. It led to a rather tall pine, which he promptly began climbing as his heart hammered against his ribcage.

A soft whimper came from above him, full of pain and fear. It made the captain’s chest ache, and he climbed faster until he was practically jumping up the tree.

Eren was sitting about halfway to the top, cracked and broken branches hanging around the limb that was supporting him. He was half awake, and there was blood dripping from a gash on his head.

As worrying as the injury was, it wasn’t the main cause for concern. The shifter’s half transformed arms, however, were, seeing as they were practically covered in a sickly coat of dark red. Feathers fluttered towards the forest floor with every breath that the brunette took, revealing strange patches of stretched and bloodied skin.

Levi cursed and crouched on the closest possible branch, frantically debating whether or not to move the potentially dying boy in front of him.

“Hey, brat,” he muttered, fingers brushing against Eren’s too-hot face, hoping that his even higher than normal body heat wasn’t a bad sign, “can you hear me? Are you okay?”

There was a weak nod from the brunette, and his eyes opened slightly, revealing that his irises were no longer solely green. Gold danced and swirled around his pupils like gilded flames, making the emerald stand out even more in contrast. Levi wondered how he had never seen this happen before, but decided that he could get lost in those fascinating eyes later, when the shifter wasn’t in danger of dying at any given moment.

“I’m gonna have to pick you up, okay? If I hurt you or anything I need you to let me know.”

Eren let out a feeble whine of agreement before the captain gently lifted him off the branch he was laying on. It was going to be nearly fucking impossible to get him out of this damn tree without falling, but he decided that he would figure it out as he went.

The shifter clung to him as he used one arm to hold his unnaturally light body, while the other was used for climbing back to the ground. He had to remind himself multiple times that looking down would be a horrible idea, one that would probably result in injury or death. The one time he did, he nearly fell off the branch that he was precariously balanced on, so he made an even bigger effort to ignore the urge.

He nearly sighed in relief when his boot touched down on the dirt, but he knew that the danger was by no means over.

“Oi, Bookworm!” he yelled, making Eren wince slightly at the sudden noise, “Don’t come here, but go and get me a horse. I need to get this idiot to Four-Eyes as soon as possible.”

“Is he hurt!?”

Levi rolled his eyes, trying to stop himself from insulting the brat for being so stupid and not listening.

“Yeah, he’s kinda hurt, but it’s only getting worse the longer we fucking wait, so hurry up and just get me a damn horse!”

He heard a slightly panicked “Yes, Captain!”, followed by quickly receding footsteps as the blonde ran off to follow orders.

The shifter in his arms let out a pained trill, and his attention turned back to the more immediate problem. There was still blood dripping from the wounds, even when it shouldn’t have been. Eren’s practically injury-proof body should have already begun healing, but for some reason, it wasn’t. Additionally, there was still the matter of why his arms were the only things that had transformed, excluding his vocal cords and the few patches of feathers along his neck and shoulders.

“You’ll be fine,” he murmured, running his fingers through the portion of Eren’s hair that wasn’t sticky with blood as an attempt to comfort the clearly agonized brunette, “I just need to get you to Hange and they can fix you right up, okay?”

There was a silent addition of “or at least I hope they can,” at the end. Levi tried not to concentrate on the thought as hoof-steps started approaching from afar. The fog had become a lot less dense in the time that they had been outside, so he could see at least the outline of the horse and its rider as they came closer.

“Armin, stop right there and go back to your friends. Tell them that I’ll be back pretty soon. Don’t say anything about Eren being hurt, I don’t need his sister to storm into Hange’s lab to murder me,” he ordered, making sure not to say anything that would alarm the blonde.

“If he’s hurt, shouldn’t he go to the Infirmary? And can’t I come with you to help?!”

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

“Look, brat, I don’t have the time to explain, and even if I did, Erwin would fucking kill me for it. Just trust me, I’ll make sure he’s safe and that he can be back with you as soon as possible.”

“I’ll do my best, but Mikasa will probably be even more angry with you for this,” Armin said, but there was still doubt in his voice as he began to walk away.

The captain waited a moment for him to be far enough away before walking over to the horse, which was waiting patiently where Bookworm had left it. He gently placed Eren on the saddle before joining him, swinging onto the horse’s back with practiced confidence.

They started to ride towards Central, or at least in the general direction of it. Levi’s internal compass was fucked up, mostly because he was too worried about the half-bird-half-human who had fallen asleep on his chest to properly look at the dim pinprick of light that was the sun.

Eventually, the ground beneath them changed to cobblestone, making Levi’s senses go on high alert. If people saw Eren like this, they’d probably freak out, which made him almost thankful for the lingering mist. Still, he was paranoid by nature, so he took off the shifter’s coat and draped it on top of him to conceal his arm-wing-appendage-things.

Now that they were back in a familiar environment, the rest of the trip went by rather quickly, and they arrived in front of Hange’s lab in less than 5 minutes. He tied the horse to a nearby bench before dismounting and once again picking Eren up to carry him inside the tent.

Hange was turned away from the door when they entered, playing with their rats and cooing to them softly.

“Hey, Four-Eyes,” he called, keeping his voice as flat as possible so that they didn’t say anything stupid.

“Levi!” they yelled, still not turning around, much to the captain’s frustration, “I’m glad you’re awake!!! I hope you slept well! Are you here to-”

They cut off as they looked over their shoulder, eyes going wide when they noticed Eren’s head injury, which had stopped bleeding at some point.

“Shit!! You should have told me!!”

The scientist rushed over, carefully removing the shifter from his arms, making his coat fall off. His wing-arms were still there, hanging limply even as Hange nearly dropped him out of surprise.

“What the hell happened to him?” they demanded, placing him on an examination bed.

“Fuck if I know! He got into a fight with his sister, ran off, and when I found him, he was like this in a tree and bleeding!”

Hange looked up from where they had been examining Eren’s injuries and stared at Levi.

“He has a sister?” they asked, grabbing and wetting a washcloth from a nearby cabinet before gently scrubbing at the dried blood on his forehead, probably to get a better look at the wound itself.

“Not blood related, but she sure enough acts like it,” the captain scoffed, “There’s a whole bunch of shit I haven’t had the chance to tell you about yet.”

“Yeah, it would seem so, but you can enlighten me later. Anyways, has he steamed at all?”

Levi did a double take at that.

“Steamed?! The fuck? He’s not a chicken dinner!!”

“No, I meant has he steamed like a titan would,” the scientist sighed, rolling their eyes as if what they had said was the most obvious thing in the world, “A few of the blood samples I took evaporated if they weren’t sealed properly, which made studying it really hard.”

“I think I’d know if Birdbrain was a titan, and no, he hasn’t _steamed._ ”

Hange glared at him in exasperation as they began to wrap a bandage around Eren’s head. The captain glared right back, but his heart wasn’t in it. He was far too concerned to be properly intimidating, so he gave up and walked closer to the examination table.

“The other thing you should know is that he does recover from injuries really fast, normally at least. I don’t know why it’s not working right now, but the day you showed up to take us home, one of you idiots shot him with a smoke signal and gave him a massive fucking bruise. Somehow, it’s already healed, so I hope that helps whatever science shit you can do to fix him.”

“It does, actually, thanks,” they said before tucking the bandage back under itself, “Mostly, it tells me that something is stopping him from healing normally. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because of his current state.”

“What, you mean the fact that he has fucking wings instead of arms? Could that possibly be the problem?” Levi deadpanned, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice.

The other person stared at him over the rim of their glasses, expression changing to one of mild concern and sympathy. They moved over and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. Unfortunately, he was too frazzled and still slightly adrenaline-pumped, so the comforting gesture had practically no effect on his anxious state of mind.

“Honestly, I think his lack of healing is a physical issue, and yes, it’s probably because he’s only partially transformed. I can’t say for sure, but he probably needs to be mostly in one form or another to mend his injuries.”

Levi put one of his hands on the shifter’s forehead, completely giving up on trying to not be a worried mess. His fingers traced over the strip of cloth as he tried to ignore the slowly growing knot of fear in his stomach.

“How do we get him out of it then?” he asked, voice becoming quiet and somewhat defeated.

“That’s something I can’t say with any certainty. It could be some sort of weird growth spurt that hit at a really bad time, genetic instability, some kind of emotional block, or practically anything, really.”

He didn’t say anything for a while. His fingers eventually stopped moving and his hand settled in the tangled mess of Eren’s brown hair.

“Hange, you asked how I felt last night,” he murmured, not looking at the scientist beside him, “Well right now, I’m absolutely fucking terrified.”

“Yeah… I could tell. Anyways, not to change the subject, because it’s good that you’re not being as emotionally dense as a rock for once, but I need to go buy food for Bandi and Cota before they bite my fingers off. Stay here and don’t do anything stupid, although I doubt that you’d leave him alone at the moment.”

They exited the tent as quietly as possible, leaving the other two alone.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Sometime after the scientist had left, Eren’s eyes snapped open, and he sat up with a sudden jerk, startling the nearly-asleep captain.

“Oi, brat, what do you think you’re doing?” he yawned, putting a hand on the shifter’s chest to gently push him back down.

A small whine of “owwww” came from the once again laying boy, causing Levi to look at him in both concern and surprise.

“You can talk again?”

He shook his head then attempted to move his arm/wing to gesture something, only to sigh as he realized that his limbs were not all human.

“Hurts,” he croaked, and the captain wasn’t sure if he was referring to his arms, his head, or his incredibly garbled and rough voice.

“Can you tell me how to fix you so that you can heal right? Or what happened that made you stuck like this?” he asked, tone changing to one of worry as his arms involuntarily crossed over his chest.

The brunette’s face twisted slightly, eyebrows knitting together as he tried to think.

“Control…” he muttered in reply, before sitting up again, this time looking around frantically, “Coat!!”

“Hey, what did I say about getting up? And relax, idiot, I’ll go get your coat if you lay back down.”

The shifter hesitated for a moment, then did as he was told, leaning back onto the small pillow that Hange had placed there. Levi nodded and made good on his words, returning a moment later with the slightly bloodied article of clothing.

He absolutely beamed as he gently accepted it from the captain’s hands, then immediately draped it over his chest. His expression changed to one of concentration, which he normally did before shifting forms, and Levi nearly held his breath as he waited for the flash of light.

Nothing happened.

Eren let out a noise of frustration, then tried again, face screwing up in a pouty look of determination. Still nothing.

He looked absolutely crestfallen, which made Levi’s chest hurt again, but it differently than how it felt in the tree. Ignoring it, he put a hand on the brunette’s shoulder, trying to comfort him.

“It’s okay, we’ll figure out the problem eventually. Until then, you’ll just have to rest and heal the normal, human way.”

The shifter nodded sadly, then scooted himself upwards so that he was on the slightly inclined part of the bed. It wasn’t technically sitting up, so Levi didn’t yell at him for it. He started to examine one of his half-transformed arms, green-gold eyes peering at the extremely messed up feathers.

“Help me,” he mumbled, gently shoving his arm towards Levi as his face turned bright red.

“Help you with wha- oh. You want me to fix the fucked-up parts? Like straighten them out and shit?”

He nodded shyly, clearly not happy that he even needed the assistance in the first place. Unfortunately, his talon-fingernail combo would have made it impossible to do on his own, at least without scratching himself open.

“Yeah, I can do that,” the captain said before standing up and walking over to the linens cabinet, “but I’m not going to get even more of your blood on me, so I’ll need to wash it off first.”

After running the washcloth under some warm water, he returned and sat down again. Eren winced as he began to gently rub the damp towel over the sections with exposed skin. He figured that it would be better to get the worst part over with first, then move on to the less painful areas. Once the majority of the blood had been washed off, he rinsed the cloth and began working on the other arm with the same method, starting with the more painful spots before switching to the covered ones.

With all the grime gone, he could begin fixing the feathers themselves. He sat down in front of Eren on the bed, who had folded his legs and was now using his jacket to prop himself up even further.

“Walls, this is going to take a while,” he sighed, making the shifter laugh slightly as he started examining the top of his left arm.

His wings were incredibly fucked up, even without looking at the patches of missing feathers. Levi wasn’t fully sure how often birds were supposed to groom and shit, but it seemed like Eren had never bothered to in the first place.

He decided to start by removing the clutter of fuzzy down feathers that had accumulated underneath the normal, bigger ones. They came out easily, seeing as most of them had been detached from their follicles a long time ago, and he had to start a small pile of fluff beside him. A few were still partially attached, so he ended up having to pull those out, much to Eren’s displeasure.

Once he was satisfied with the underlayer, he began uncrossing and flipping the larger feathers. This was slightly less difficult, but he found that some of them had quills that were cracked or broken. He had to snap off a few of those too, and he tried to ignore the shifter’s yelps whenever he did so.

Levi quickly found himself completely engrossed in fixing the rest of the wings. The rest of the world seemed as though it had faded out of existence, leaving only red-brown feathers that he could straighten out. He was dimly aware of Eren watching him with an extremely content smile on his face, probably pleased that Levi was being so thorough and careful with him. Normally, the captain would have yelled at someone for looking at him like that, but coming from the brunette, it was actually kind of… _nice._

Eventually, he ran out of things to fix, and decided to just card his fingers through the feathers, making Eren hum quietly out of sheer bliss. He was far too focused to notice the small sound, eyes still intently following his hand as it made its way down the wings over and over again.

Muffled snickers erupted from the doorway, and he glanced up to see both Hange and Erwin standing there, trying unsuccessfully to cover their laughter. He flushed and pulled his hand away from the shifter, glaring at the other two. Eren let out a small whine before attempting to grab the captain’s hand to put it back where it was, only to realize that he would probably hurt him if he tried.

“How long have you fuckers been standing there?” Levi demanded, desperately trying to stop the blush that was steadily rising towards his face.

“A while…”

He groaned and buried his face in his hands, which made Hange giggle even harder.

“Don’t let us stop you,” Erwin said, barely contained laughter making his shoulders shake, “It’s fun to watch, and I’m sure Eren wouldn’t mind if you continued.”

“Fuck off, both of you. Why are you even here, Eyebrows? Did Shitty Glasses tell you what happened?”

The commander nodded, expression becoming slightly more serious as he stepped forwards.

“I’d figured I should check in with our new recruit, so I went down to the 104th’s barracks, only to be told by a very angry-looking girl in a scarf that he wasn’t there.”

“Yeah, that’s his sister, and I’m surprised she didn’t try to kill you on sight. If I was there right now, I’d probably be long dead.”

Erwin raised an eyebrow, and the captain found himself explaining the important parts of what had occurred in the past two days. At some point during his summarization of the interaction with Armin and the book, he realized that his hand had started to absentmindedly run through Eren’s feathers again. He didn’t bother to stop himself, and continued doing so even after he finished his miniature lecture.

“Well, it’s good that we now have more information on his background and where he came from,” the commander said, evidently still processing the explanation.

Hange, on the other hand, looked incredibly curious and excited, even more than normal.

“You said his father was Grisha Yeager? I’ve heard Shadis mention him a few times, so he might be important. Also, I’d love to see what Eren’s friend was reading! I might pop by some time to borrow it...”

After the brief pause, Erwin came to a decision on what his next move would be.

“It would be best if I could talk to his friends,” he declared, still pondering something, probably how he could terrify Murder-Scarf and Bookworm into cooperation, “see what they’re willing to share about his past and possibly how he obtained his abilities.”

“They don’t know about Eren, so it’s your call on whether or not you want to tell them,” Levi sighed, shifting so that he didn’t have to reach so far to continue running his fingertips along the brunette’s feathers.

“That’ll depend on what comes up in the conversation. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go find them so that we can be done by sunset.”

He left a moment later, waving a short goodbye at the two sitting on the bed. After he was gone, Hange turned and walked over to her rats, feeding them the various vegetable scraps that they had probably gotten from Kitchens.

“It’s almost sunset already?” the captain asked, trying to find any indication of what time it was, “Wasn’t it just morning a little while ago?”

Hange laughed.

“Levi, I’ve been gone for nearly four and a half hours.”

He blinked in surprise. It felt like only twenty minutes had passed between the time that they had left until they had returned, and maybe another thirty was spent talking to them and the commander.

“Anywayssssss,” they sighed while walking over to where the other two were sitting, “Eren, do you want to meet my rats?”

The shifter looked up at the sound of his name, gaze shifting from where he had been spacing out at for the last few minutes, which was incidentally Levi’s head. He nodded excitedly, and Hange extended their arm onto his, allowing the small animals to pass over them like a bridge. 

Carefully, he moved his feathered forearm so that it was closer to his face as he smiled at the rats, who were sniffing curiously at their new perch. They seemed rather confused as to what the fuck they were standing on, probably because to them, feathers meant predators, but humans meant friends and food-givers, and Eren was a mix of both at the moment.

After a quite few seconds of thorough inspection, they decided that he was too weird for their small brains to understand, and then scampered back into their caretaker’s waiting hands.

Levi watched the interaction with a slight smile, which grew when Eren waved at the tiny creatures as they were taken back to their cage. The shifter beamed with pride, evidently happy that he had made new friends, even if they were small rodents that seemed rather indifferent to him. The captain had to remind himself that it was incredibly stupid to be jealous of literal rats, but his instincts had never bothered to listen to him anyways.

“Hey, Four-Eyes,” he called, trying not to spiral into incredibly irrational anger over some damn mice, “I just realized that I haven’t fucking eaten at all today. Would you mind getting me something from Kitchens really quick?”

The scientist gasped and chastised him for not saying something sooner, then disappeared from the tent, running off to go find him food.

“You ate something at some point, right brat?” he turned back to Eren, who was looking like he was going to fall asleep again.

The brunette nodded sleepily, then leaned forwards and draped himself over Levi, intent on using him as a human pillow. The Scout sighed quietly, gently pushing the nearly passed-out boy back to where he was laying before he had moved. Unfortunately, Eren had other plans, and wrapped his arm-wings around him as he fell back, pulling the captain with down with him. He flicked his forehead out of slight frustration, but he gave in when it became clear that he wouldn’t be released any time soon.

As he slowly relaxed into the shifter’s superheated chest, he felt his own eyelids grow heavy. He had gone through two adrenaline rushes in one day, a fact that he was now realizing along with his utter exhaustion. Besides, Hange would probably wake him up when they arrived with food, so he told himself that a quick nap wouldn’t hurt.

He was, however, wrong, but it was too late to stop the nearly coma-like sleep that he had fallen into. Most of him, however, didn’t care, and he was perfectly content to doze off in warm, feathery arms as the sun set outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it!! Mikasa did not murder anyone (for now), Eren is currently Fucked Up but also really cute, and Levi just wants to appreciate the pretty feathers without worrying about if somebody is going to die. Also fun rat scene to piss my friend off and make me happy :P
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it!!!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After falling asleep, Levi has a really fucking weird dream, and he wakes up to an absolutely disastrous crisis. After **someone** nearly dies, some of Eren's secrets are revealed, as well as a few of the secrets of this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowieeeee would you look at that, another 5k chapter! I'm actually super proud of this one, because i managed to force myself to get the plot moving. Also, are ya ready for some lore and worldbuilding shit? I didn't fall down several wikipedia rabbit holes for nothing!!
> 
> Anyways, I'd also like to mention that this is slowly splintering off further and further from canon, but I like the mythology ideas that i've made in my head so far, and I hope you like them too!!
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -Descriptions of fire and shit burning
> 
> -vaugely Creepy and Borderline Threatening Entities
> 
> -fight scene babey!! but theres not a lot of detail on blood and injury
> 
> -the shittiest engineering and MacGyvering I ever did imagine
> 
> -AND YOU GUESSED IT, CUSSSING!! sO MUCH CUSSING! bring the reader a prize!!

Dreams are strange, fickle things. 

If you’re a normal person, they tend to be a bit odd and nonsensical, perhaps the occasional nightmare or romantic scenario, but that’s if you can even remember them. Some people don’t ever recall having dreams, no matter how hard they try.

Levi tended to be the second type of person. His dreams were practically nonexistent in his memory, and the ones he did remember were often filled with trauma and grief, so he was perfectly fine with his ignorance.

This dream, however, was very different.

The first thing he noticed was that everything around him had perfect clarity. Normally, his nightmares were hazy, like everything was shifting and fading. There was none of that happening here, no faces of people he had failed to save, nor any dark and dismal backgrounds that brought back waves of overwhelming guilt.

Instead, he found himself in an eerily glowing pool of water, floating aimlessly as he stared up at the twinkling stars above him. For some reason, he couldn’t move anything except his eyes, and possibly his fingers if he tried hard enough. It was like his body wasn’t his to control, something that was more than vaguely concerning.

He drifted for what felt like a short eternity, watching the moon as it slowly crept across the gap in the trees above him. As it approached its peak, the water around him started pulsing with a blue-gold light, and he felt feeling return to his limbs.

Except, as he now realized, they weren’t _his_ limbs. _His_ fingers were long and slender, with obsessively perfect nails. These were shorter, and had what appeared to be a membrane spread between each of them, similar to a duck or goose, but more humanlike. 

Further down on the arm that he was examining, there was a point where the skin began to gradually turn into some sort of strange, silky fur that had the near-holographic iridescence of a pure white opal. The other arm had the same thing, as did what he could see of his chest.

His first instinct was to get out of the water and begin trying to find out where in the fuck he was in this dreamscape, but he was stopped by some sort of weird fibers that connected to the back of… whatever body this was. When he tried to snap them off or get rid of them, more sprung up out of the pool and latched on like irritating cobwebs. Apparently, he was only allowed to go to the shallow parts, because whenever he tried to cross the shore, he was yanked back like a damn puppet on strings.

After a few attempts to leave, he gave up and continued to float in the middle of the pool. The pulsing light became more frequent as the moon continued moving towards the center of the sky above him. Levi wasn’t sure exactly what would happen when it got there, but he pessimistically assumed that it would be bad.

Since he had nothing else to do, he looked around to try and figure out what was going on. The trees around the banks were tall and dark, swaying in the breeze as they obstructed his vision into the rest of the forest. The small amounts of moonlight that did filter through them was nothing compared to the now emerald and silver glow that was radiating from the water around him. Honestly, the whole thing felt more than surreal, even for a dream. This sensation was only intensified when a gentle melody started floating around his ears, whispering words in a language he didn’t know.

When the moon did finally reach the center of the night sky, it was like time stopped. The light no longer pulsed, the trees no longer swayed with the breeze, and even the ripples in the luminescent surface seemed to be frozen in place, even though Levi could still move freely within the pool. In fact, the only thing that hadn’t stopped was the quiet singing that still flowed in and out of his eardrums.

There was a tug in his chest, and he felt his borrowed body drift upwards as he began to ascend out of the water. Glowing droplets rolled off of him like he was coated in oil, but they remained floating in the air the second they left his skin-fur combo stuff.

His feet were about a half-meter from the eerily still pond when he stopped, and he noticed that the strings had disconnected from him, now suspended halfway between the surface and his back. 

The moon above him started to shine brighter and brighter, until it was more like the sun, or maybe a particularly bright lightbulb in an all-white room. It continued to assault his eyes, overwhelming the pale cyan glow from the pool below him.

Just as he thought he was literally going to go blind, there was an abrupt change into sudden darkness, leaving him floating in a void-like environment that felt like sweet relief to his aching eyes. As far as he could tell, his body was once more the one he had been born with, but he just couldn’t seem to find a way to wake the fuck up.

“ _Humanity’s Strongest,_ ” a gentle yet powerful voice called, and every bit of his brain could suddenly do nothing but listen to the command.

“ _You have something that belongs to me. He is not yet safe for your kind, nor is he safe from them. Return him, and fix what has been unbalanced._ ”

With that, the disembodied voice was gone, and there was another tug as his conscious brain began to activate.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Levi woke up as he fell asleep, in someone’s warm arms.

Sadly, as he tried to adjust his senses to the real world, he realized that it was NOT the same arms that he had fallen asleep in. No, these were human, and they were carrying him while running down… streets? 

It took him a moment to realize that he was being carried through the cobbled roads of Headquarters, and it was another second or two to before he noticed that it was on fucking fire. His head popped up and swung around rapidly as he looked at the flames that were littering various rooftops.

“Ah! Levi! Sorry about carrying you, but you wouldn’t wake up back in the lab, and I couldn’t exactly leave you there to burn, now could I?” a voice yelled, and he was ashamed to say that it took much longer than he would have liked to realize that it had come from whoever was currently holding his still-limp body.

That would be Hange who was carrying him then, something that he should have noticed earlier, because their ponytail was brushing across his face as they ran.

“Four-Eyes, what the fuck is going on?! Where are you taking me? Where’s Eren?!?”

The scientist barked out a laugh, but he could tell that it had nothing to do with comedy. 

“I,” they wheezed, turning a corner when they realized that they might be cut off by a wall of flame in front of them, “am bringing you to the ODM Center. Eren is ahead of us, with Erwin. As for your other question, I honestly wish I could tell you what happened, except I have no fucking clue!!”

Levi was now extremely confused, even more than he had been when he had barely opened his eyes. Hell, that freaky fucking dream was less confusing than whatever was going on around him.

“Why the ODM Center? Shouldn’t we be evacuating or trying to contain the fire? And let me down, I’m not a fucking baby.”

Hange unceremoniously dropped him, probably relieved to lose the additional weight, and he was suddenly extremely grateful for his lightning-quick reflexes. He began running after a short stumble, keeping pace with the panicked scientist.

“All I know is Erwin said there’s an emergency, and that everyone needs to gear up ASAP! We’re almost there, so hurry up!”

Thankfully, they were correct, and the pair stumbled into the Center a few minutes later while gasping for breath. Immediately, leather straps were thrust into their arms, along with gas tanks and all the mechanical equipment that came with them. Then, they were told to get their asses upstairs to find the commander, followed by a warning not to use the lifts in case they failed due to the heat from the fire.

Levi sprinted up the multiple flights while wrestling the top half of his harness onto his chest. With that latched and secured, he hopped on one foot as he attempted to fit his leg through the proper loop, before switching to the remaining one.

Hange, on the other hand, had temporarily given up on the leg straps altogether as they attached the tanks and actual gear to their sides and back. Under normal circumstances, it would have been funny to watch them juggle the canisters and avoid the wires, but Levi was way too preoccupied with his own shit to notice.

Eventually, they made it to the roof with everything put on and tightened, for the most part at least. It was the second time in less than a week that they had been up here, and it was looking like this time would be just as much of a crisis as the last. The captain chalked it up to his absolutely horrible luck, which was perfectly fair, seeing as he had a really bad track record, as well as a natural tendency to get caught in life-threatening scenarios.

Erwin called them over to the southernmost side of the roof, which was the side that faced the distant, looming Wall. Eren was there too, much to Levi’s overwhelming relief. He did a quick head count and saw that all of the brats were there, as well as his own squad. Most of them were staring in shock at the feathers poking out from beneath Eren’s coat, even as he tried to conceal them further.

“Oi, Eyebrows, you mind telling me why I woke up to this shit? What the fuck happened here?” the captain yelled, catching everyone’s attention.

The commander gave him a grim look before gesturing vaguely towards Wall Rose and the sun that was beginning to rise behind it.

“I’m not entirely sure myself, but from what I can gather, something happened to the Wall last night,” he said, making a few people gasp in fear and surprise, “There have been multiple reports of titan activity, but nothing taller than 5 meters has been spotted, so it’s at least a small breach. According to Garrison, the Gate is untouched, and the citizens were able to safely evacuate to Rose for the time being. Hopefully, we can find out what happened and fix it before people start complaining.”

That was… not good. If they couldn’t plug up the hole in time, the other, larger titans would start trying to squeeze through, and the breach would indefinitely get bigger and bigger.

“And what about the fires that are burning our fucking everything down?”

A frown flashed across Erwin’s face, something that only happened when he was either thinking or in deep shit. Both would be applicable in this situation.

“To be honest, I have no clue. It could be intentional, caused by one of the angry citizens, or it could be the result of a careless accident from the chaos. There are a few squads working on getting it put out as we speak, but most of them have been dispatched to deal with the titans.”

Levi grimaced and looked out at the horrible scene on the ground below them. If Erwin didn’t know what had happened, that meant shit was really bad. He had always made a habit of being on top of things, and that was before his job required it, so the fact that he was openly admitting to his uncertainty was more than concerning.

One of the girls from Eren’s new little friend group, the one that everyone had yelled at two nights ago, shifted uncomfortably and hesitated before asking why the 104th was there, small voice stuttering slightly as she spoke. Erwin, of course, listened intently so that she knew her question was heard and respected.

“Well, as of now, the people on this roof are the only people who know about Eren’s shapeshifting abilities,” he calmly explained, continuing even as the younger Scouts gaped at him in shock, “Originally, it was supposed to be kept a secret, but this certainly qualifies as enough of an emergency for you all to find out.”

“Oh, so you mean that you were just not going to tell me that someone or something fu-messed with my brother?! Or tell the others that their new member is… I don’t even know!” Murder-Scarf cut in, and Levi was almost offended by the fact that she had refrained from cussing at the commander, but not him.

“I had intended to let the rest of you find out on your own. Besides, I already spoke to your friend, Armin, about it last night.”

The younger Scouts’ heads all swiveled to the boy in question, who suddenly looked like he would much rather be anywhere else. Mikasa looked like she wanted to strangle him, and she probably would if there weren’t superior officers there.

“Anyways,” Erwin continued, pulling everyone’s attention back to him, “I have a plan to seal up the Wall, but it mostly depends on Eren’s ability to change forms, which seems to be out of commission at the moment, so I’d like to hear ideas on how we’re going to deal with this crisis.”

Levi was about to open his mouth to say that there was no way in hell that he was going to let Eren go into what was surely a pit of titans, but one of the other brats beat him to it.

“Commander, I’m still not…entirely sure what exactly is going on, but if it’s a small hole, shouldn’t some sorta barricade stop it? Like not forever, but you know, until we can find a better way?”

Erwin gave him a tight smile and a nod of approval, even as one of the others smacked him upside the head.

“Jean,” Ponytail said, pinching her nose in frustration, “that’s literally the Commander’s whole idea. The problem is, how are we going to be able to get in there and proceed to build something like that without becoming lunch for the titans?”

The brat, _Jean_ , apparently, let out a quiet sigh of “ohhhhhhhh”, much to the others’ amusement and humor. Somehow, even as the world literally burned around them, they still managed to gently make fun of each other, probably as a way to relieve stress or something. Levi could somewhat admire that about them, how they could compartmentalize everything and make it seem so _easy_.

Bookworm stood up from where he had been trying to avoid everyone’s judgement and raised his hand, somehow managing to look both nervous and confident at the same time. Erwin gave him a slightly more genuine smile as he turned to face his general direction.

“Titans are attracted to groups of humans, right? So, if we use the majority of us to lead them away, the more skilled ones can put something down while they’re distracted. We’d have to build something beforehand though, so we’d need to look at the hole first to get a general idea of its shape and size.”

Well, it now made sense why Eyebrows seemed to like him so much. He had already shown high levels of intelligence on the day prior, but it seemed that he actually had enough meat in his skull to use his book knowledge for strategy, and if there was one thing that Levi knew about the commander, it was that he adored anyone who could plan as well as him. This theory was proved when Erwin gave him a very enthusiastic nod, and even followed it with a fucking thumbs-up, which made the captain roll his eyes in exasperation. He could practically hear wedding bells ringing in strategically-timed patterns, or some shit like that.

“That’s an excellent idea, thank you Armin,” he said, still smiling at the blonde, who now looked very happy with himself, “Now, is there any objections? If not, we should get moving as soon as possible.

“Yeah, I got one,” Levi interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest as Eyebrows looked at him curiously, “Birdbrain still doesn’t know shit about ODM gear, so unless we saved some horses from turning into charred meat, he’s gonna need to find something else to do.”

The commander glanced over at the shifter in question, who was staring at the ground dejectedly, looking like a kicked puppy who needed a hug. (Levi had to restrain himself from doing just that, seeing as Mikasa was still occasionally glaring daggers at him.)

“I can try again…” Eren muttered, green-gold eyes snapping towards the skyline.

He nodded firmly, like he had just convinced himself of something, and shrugged his shoulders so that his coat was more secure around his torso. Well, as secure as it could be, seeing as it was pretty much draped over his feathered arms.

Before anyone could stop him, he sprinted for the edge of the roof and _fucking jumped off of it_ , giving everyone there a miniature heart attack. Levi nearly screamed as he watched him start plummeting towards the fiery streets beneath them. A few of the other Scouts, mostly his sister and friends, let out yelps and gasps as they leaned over the edge to watch him fall.

For a terrifying second, nothing happened.

Then, with a bright flash, he soared upwards and landed on the ledge, trilling triumphantly. Weirdly, he was still sparking slightly, little zaps of lightning occasionally coming from his ruffled feathers.

Levi stormed over and flicked his stupid little bird forehead, making him squawk in indignation.

“You’re so fucking stupid Birdbrain!! There was like a 70/30 chance that that wouldn’t fucking work, and it still looks like you might change back at any second! If you had died I would have resurrected your ass to kill you myself.”

The shifter chirped unhappily, then got that stupid mischievous glint in his eyes. Without warning, he hopped up onto Levi’s shoulder, being careful not to let his talons pierce anything important.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” the captain sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he turned back to the rest of the group, now with a rather large and unnaturally light bird of prey balancing on him, “Oi, Murder-Scarf, come get your fuckin’ brother, I don’t like him anymore.”

Eren did his creepy laugh-thing, and it was jarring enough to snap the younger Scouts out of their shocked daze. A bunch of them rushed up, all shouting questions over each other, even as Levi attempted to fend them off with gentle punches and jabs. Hange was snickering quietly from beside him, along with Erwin and a couple members of his own squad. He decided they were all traitors, every last one.

Surprisingly, Mikasa hadn’t come up to crowd around the two. Instead, she was just watching them with…well, it wasn’t _quite_ a glare, but it was by no means fond or happy. It was more like the barest minimum of begrudging respect, and even that description was sugarcoating it slightly.

After a few minutes of questions and looks of either awe or slight terror, the gaggle of brats eventually backed off, returning to where they had been before.

Erwin cleared his throat, once again grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Alright, now is everyone ready to go? We’ll stick to Armin’s plan when we get there, because, and no offense Eren, but that form… does not look the most stable.”

Birdbrain let out an understanding twitter, then flew over to the space behind the commander, hovering just past the edge of the roof as a sign of readiness. Erwin took that as a confirmation and began to swing his way towards the Wall. The others followed suit, with varying degrees of showmanship and talent. One of them managed to pull off a backflip as they started speeding from rooftop to rooftop, but nearly ran into a patch of flames, much to the others’ amusement.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was a fairly short trip, seeing as Headquarters was located pretty close to Rose, just under halfway between the Wall and the main city. They did have to do brief sections of it on foot though, because they didn’t want to risk using up too much of their gas, even if Garrison surely had stockpiles of it on top.

Thankfully, there were no living titans that tried to kill them on their way there, although there were plenty of dead and steaming ones littering the ground. More concerningly, Levi counted at least 12 dead Scouts, which wasn’t horrible in terms of statistics, but it was still a dozen or more people who would never get to see their possible futures. He tried not to point them out, but judging from the grim expressions on the others’ faces when they arrived, they hadn’t gone unnoticed.

However, upon sight of the breach, he realized that they were going to have much bigger problems than a brief casualty cleanup if they didn’t act quickly.

It wasn’t too large, but there was a steady stream of titans pouring in, ranging from 2 meters to about 5 and a half. The Scouts avoided them for the time being, opting to go around instead of trying to fight their way through, since it was clear that there were just too many, even with people as skilled as them there.

Strangely, it wasn’t the size of the hole that concerned Levi the most, nor the titans coming through it. No, the thing that unsettled him the most was the vines that twisted around the opening, curling in such a way so that none of the rubble from the break could obstruct the path. They seemed as though they had grown there intentionally, and after the creepy warning from his dream (at this point, he wasn’t even sure if it _was_ a dream), he wondered if maybe they did.

When they landed atop the wall, they were greeted by some very terrified-looking Garrison members, as well as a few of the higher-ups that Levi had never bothered to learn the names of. Erwin had a brief conversation with them, explaining their plan, and they began relaying orders to their inferiors, who started running off to get the necessary supplies. A few of them looked curiously at the giant bird that was once again perched on Levi’s shoulder, but he scared most of them off with an irritated glare.

“All right,” the commander said as he waved off the Garrison people, turning back to his own members, “While they finish bringing in the resources we can scrape together, we need to decide who’s leaving to be a distraction, as well as who’s staying to put the barrier in place.”

Immediately, the 104th (minus Eren) began to talk amongst themselves, essentially becoming their own little bubble as the others listened curiously. It was no wonder that so many of them had made it this far, their teamwork and cooperation was something to be in awe of. Levi heard a flurry of insults being hurled, as well as the occasional compliment or familiar name, but other than that he understood practically none of what they were saying, and judging by the confused looks on his own squad’s faces, he wasn’t alone in his bewilderment. Hell, even Hange, who could talk at the speed of fucking light when they felt like it, seemed like they could only comprehend about half of the debate.

After a few moments of the overlapping chatter, there was a chorus of “Good?”, followed by a series of more affirmative “Good.” 's. It appeared that they had reached a consensus on the matter.

The blonde, big-brother-esque brat (that wasn’t a bad nickname actually, Levi would have to keep it in mind for later) stepped forwards, away from the rest of the group.

“Okay,” he declared, before beginning to count off names on his fingers, “Mikasa, Jean, Connie, and Sasha are going to stay, and the rest of us are going to go. Well, except Armin, we figured you’d want him up here, since it’s his plan and all.”

Erwin nodded, clearly impressed by their communication skills and decision making, and then looked at Levi and his squad expectantly.

“Well obviously I’m staying, but I’ll stick with uhhhh… Petra and Eld. Oluo and Gunther, you two can be on babysitting duty for now. Try not to get them killed,” the captain sighed, and his squad members snickered at his near random selection. (Thankfully, he knew that they would be perfectly capable of whatever job they did, so he didn’t worry too much about them.)

The commander snorted slightly, then gestured towards Eren, who was still on Levi’s damn shoulder.

“What are we doing with him? Is he fit to fight yet?”

“Yeah, fuck no,” Levi said, cutting off the indignant squawks coming from beside his head, “He’s staying up here with you and Bookworm, since we have no idea how stable he is at the moment. The last thing I need is to have to save his ass because he tried to do some fancy shit.”

Eren trilled unhappily and pecked at the captain’s head, who responded by jabbing him in the side, seeing as he couldn’t glare at him because of how he was positioned. There were muffled giggles from the other Scouts, but he could at least properly scowl at them.

“Commander Smith! We finished the barricade using the materials you requested!” someone shouted from a few meters down the Wall, prompting the officer to go inspect what they had built.

Since the others had nothing else to do as they awaited the order to begin the plan, they followed him to the source of the voice.

To be completely honest, it was a pretty shitty excuse for a barricade, but given the materials they had, it was the best that they were going to get. It was made out of empty gas canisters, with strips of various material woven through it to lash it together. There were triangular supports hastily nailed onto one side, probably to keep it upright when they dropped it inside of the breach. Levi also noticed that there were parts of ODM gear attached, specifically the wire launchers, which the Garrison officer said was for securing it better by making it latch into the sides and top of the hole.

Overall, it wasn’t a half bad engineering job, but it probably wouldn’t keep the bloodthirsty monsters below them at bay for more than a few hours, so they would need a more permanent solution by then. 

Thankfully, it was just light enough for two people to carry with a bit of strain, or three if you wanted it to be comfortable. It certainly didn’t seem heavy enough to stop a titan from body-slamming it, but hopefully the wires and the staked stands would be enough to dig it into the ground and Wall for a while.

Once Erwin gave it a thorough inspection, he nodded firmly and turned back to the two squads.

“Once the distraction party takes off, we need the others to drop down and start killing off as many lingering titans as they can,” he commanded, voice ringing with authority and confidence, “When enough of them are gone, we’ll send down the barricade on a lift so that you can put it where it needs to be. After that, return to the Wall, and if the other group has issues, go help them.”

Everyone found themselves filled with something at least resembling courage as they saluted their commander as a form of agreement. The way he said it made it seem like it would be no more difficult than going shopping on a Sunday afternoon, even though they rationally knew that they would literally be facing potential death. Still, Erwin was good at his job, both in his office and on the battlefield, something that became very clear as he gave his orders.

“Now!” he shouted, and the departure team immediately descended into the abandoned town below them, leaving the others to watch anxiously as they began corralling titans as if they were sheep.

By some miracle, the mindless monsters fell for it, and all but a few stragglers remained, clawing aimlessly at the Wall or wandering vaguely through the streets. When Erwin gave the signal, the remaining 7 dropped down, plus Hange, who had insisted on coming so that they could get a better look at the breach. Eren had very much looked like he wanted to follow, but the commander told him to keep him and Armin company, so he had reluctantly stayed behind.

When they reached the city below them, Levi began to take out the small group of titans, easily slicing through napes and tendons with a kind of methodical precision that he had mastered over the years. He left a few for the others before moving on to the ones closer to the breach, which he also took down with a few well-placed cuts.

Unfortunately, no amount of hacking and slashing could have helped with the huge fucking problem that he found himself facing, along with the other Scouts when they caught up to him.

There was a 10-meter titan that had somehow gotten itself lodged within the hole, laying on its stomach as it tried to crawl through the much too small opening. If life were easy, they would have been able to return to the top, because the hole was technically plugged. However, life was often anything _but_ easy, a fact that was making itself known in the forms of small cracks trying to crumble off more pieces of the weakened Wall.

“Well,” someone said from beside him, “that’s quite an issue, huh?”

“No shit Connie,” another muttered, and he heard a quiet smack, followed by a snort from his other side.

Levi examined the head that was biting at them, even as the rest of the monster was immobilized.

“Our best bet is to kill it and let it disintegrate, but the others might be back by then, with a swarm of titans on their tails.”

Hange walked dangerously close to it, dancing away from its gnashing teeth in the world’s most deadly game of keep-away.

“Helloooooo,” they said cheerfully, much to the younger Scouts’ confusion. The other ones just sighed, completely used to the fact that the scientist was batshit crazy. “Would you mind moving for us? I’m sure you can scoot out much easier than trying to push your way in!”

“Shitty Glasses, you know it’s not gonna fucking listen. Just decapitate it already, and then kick it back through the hole so we can plug it.”

They pouted, but did as they were told, using one blade to skewer its head to the ground, and the other to carve through its neck. For some fucking reason, they apologized during the whole ordeal, and even patted the newly severed head as if it were a sick friend. Levi rolled his eyes and glared at them before walking over to help shove the steaming neck backwards, ignoring the intense heat that was slowly burning his hands and arms.

When they managed to get it back through far enough for the barricade to fit, he called up to the people on top that they needed the block as quickly as possible before more titans tried to come through.

You know how Levi made a habit of complaining about his shitty luck? Well, his horrible streak of misfortune clearly had no intention of stopping any time soon.

A monstrous hand reached through the hole and abruptly grabbled him, leaving only his head to stick out of the top of the enclosed fist. It dragged him forwards, causing the humans behind him to scream in panic. Eld and Petra rushed forwards to make a grab for him, but they were just a second too late as he was dragged to the other side of the Wall.

He tried to start cutting into the titan’s skin with his blades, but its grip was incredibly tight, so he could only really press them in slightly. It was pathetic that he couldn’t even draw blood as his limbs struggled against the bone-crushing pressure.

The monster began lifting him to its mouth, and he wasn’t sure if the sudden sluggishness of time was caused by the adrenaline rush or by the titans’ natural tendency to be as slow as possible to conserve energy or whatever bullshit. It wasn’t even a decent looking titan either, with its sharp fangs and ragged tufts of hair, and he was vaguely offended that whatever higher power that had led him to this point couldn’t even let him die at the hands of a normal monstrosity instead of this extra ugly one.

A screech erupted from above him, making him panic as he realized only one being in the vicinity could sound like that.

“You fucking idiot!” he yelled, not bothering to keep the shake of fear out of his voice, “If you come down here to save me right now I will be so fucking pissed off at you!”

He knew that his words would have no effect on the hotheaded shifter that had apparently decided to commit suicide, and he desperately hoped that someone would stop him before he could get himself killed.

There was another screech as he was pulled within less than three meters of the titan’s horrifying teeth, but this one was followed by a panicked human yell, meaning that he had managed to slip past both Eyebrows and Bookworm.

“Don’t even fucking think about it, Birdbrain! I’ll-”

He was cut off by a tense wave of pressure, followed by actual fucking lightning, and he had no time to finish his sentence as the heat and light stunned him into silence.

A new sound came from behind him, but this one was most certainly not a screech. No, this was a downright roar, one that sent shivers of glacial fear down his spine. The hand that was holding him stopped moving about a half meter from the blood-crusted chin of what was supposed to be his killer.

Somehow, he managed to wriggle around enough to see something both absolutely terrifying and completely breathtaking.

The 15-meter titan killer from the forest had returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah!! Cliffhangers! Fun!
> 
> ...yeah i can't really think of much else to say... 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it, and thank you sooooo much for all the support, it's always SUCH a mood booster to see all the people who have liked this dumpster fire! Have a great day/night!!


	10. Chapter 10 (the most painful chapter I've made yet, so happy new years!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Eren's titan form revealed in front of hundreds of people, what will their reactions be? More importantly, what will _Levi's_ reaction be? The fight that follows leaves many questions unanswered, and it only goes downhill from there. (well, minus one brief kinda fluffy scene because i needed something to make me not cry.)
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -Fighting, and all the injuries and gory mess that comes with it
> 
> -muteness and non-verbal means of communication
> 
> -aftermath of the fire stuff
> 
> -panic attacks and breakdowns for everyone!!
> 
> -angst. so much fucking angst. bake me some angst cupcakes out of this shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok!! since that summary is pretty Bad and Depressing, heres some fairly unrelated stuff!
> 
> 1- one of the few reasons i was able to do this is because i found this **lovely** little youtube playlist called "Stealing Milk From a Vending Machine with Kageyama Tobio- a Playlist" and idk i just love that name and thought i would share it with y'all. Also yes I think Haikyuu is fucking immaculate so :P
> 
> 2- I am INCREDIBLY sorry for if this chapter is like bad or not well thought out, i thought it was sorta blocky and not that good, but oh well, theres no turning back now. My proofreader has some catching up to do but I'm too impatient so here I am, at 5:46 AM having stayed up since 10 this morning, and I don't feel tired for some reason so... yeah. Gonna be a pain staying up till midnight tomorrow (well technically today....)
> 
> 3- the best one! HAPPY NEW YEARS GUYS!!! 2020 was hands down one of the weirdest years of my life, but I'm not gonna say shit about 2021 so i cant fuck shit up with my bad luck... Anyways, if i had my phone to insert emojis there would be a string of the celebration ones with the party hats here, maybe some sparkles too for good measure. Hope you have a wonderful holiday, and stay safe!
> 
> I've ranted long enough, now go read!!

There is a difference between horror, terror, and panic. Although technically, they are all described as forms of fear, each one has a slightly altered connotation, normally due to the presence of mind that wavers as you feel them.

Levi had no fucking clue why this was his first thought as he saw the new titan in front of him, but clearly his situation was a rather good way to analogize the 3 words.

Terror- that’s when you can tell that something horrible and scary is about to happen. It’s the feeling that sinks in your stomach as you realize that shit is about to hit the fan. Levi briefly experienced this sensation as the titan loomed over him and the grabby-hands monster that was planning to make him lunch.

Panic- this one is often experienced right after terror, when your senses can recover from the mind-numbing fear that shut them down. The feeling is often described as an ‘alarm bell’, and it’s what you feel as something happens in the present. It’s real and it’s very immediate, like when you realize that you are falling through thin air instead of stepping onto flat ground. Or, in Levi’s case, when a green-eyed, towering monster broke the hand that’d been holding him hostage, leaving him to drop through the few meters between him and the ground as he frantically tried to hook himself into the Wall.

And then there’s horror, which is different from the other two. Horror is Levi watching some…thing (that may or may not be attempting to save him) literally _rip the titan’s fucking head off_. Horror is feeling disconnected as steaming blood sprayed over his face, watching paralyzed as the 15 meter turned its rage onto the titans that were apparently drawn to the absolutely feral presence. 

Technically, all of this was considered fear. It had triggered his flight-fight-freeze response, and it had _certainly_ made his adrenaline levels jump, so from what limited medical knowledge he had, he was now supposed to be scared out of his wits. He should have been a stuttering, wide-eyed fool, with accelerated breathing and shaking hands.

But, for whatever reason, he wasn’t.

The sudden appearance had shocked him, sure, and had definitely given him a brief moment of alarm, but after that, he just felt…numb. Eerily calm. Like he was floating out of his own skin and watching the massacre from far, far away.

It lasted maybe 5 minutes, tops, before the mindless monsters started to swarm the bigger, more intelligent one, tearing at whatever flesh they could get their hands on. There was a flash as the 15-meter went limp, falling into the sea of grotesque limbs and gnashing teeth beneath it. None of them noticed the staggering falcon flying away from their now-steaming meal, swerving as bursts of electricity and light buzzed around him like the world’s most dangerous fireflies.

Somewhere, in the back of Levi’s syrup-slow brain, a plug was pulled, and all of the mind-numbing emotions drained away, leaving something that at least somewhat resembled rational thinking. He realized, with a sinking dread, that the titan hadn’t randomly shown up, _he had always been there_. 

Titans were monsters. They were ruthless, feral killers, with not a single urge other than to hurt and destroy. This was a fact that had been hammered into every curious child’s head since birth, and it was one of the only things that humanity could continually rely on. ‘ _If you go near a titan, it will kill you and eat you for fun_ ’ was one of the first things that Levi had learned in the Scouts, and even though the idea of gigantic, naked humanoids that craved human flesh seemed absurd to anyone who had never had the misfortune of meeting one, he knew a threat when he saw it. ‘ _Stay inside the Walls, or risk your life._ ’ That was a solid statement, it was something as true and real as ‘ _the sky is blue_ ’ or ‘ _fire is hot_ ’.

Titans were murderers, and no sane human could ever care for one.

So why had he rushed to save one as he fell through the sky, no longer able to sustain his shifted, feather-covered body? Why did the most important person in his dreary life turn out to be a monster?

He should have run. He should have left something that could have killed him, should have gone back to the Scouts waiting for him within the safe boundaries of humanity. Every rational bone in his body was warning him to keep someone so deadly away from him, to increase his chances at survival. It should have been so _easy_ to sacrifice one person to potentially save everyone else he knew. No one would have hated him for it, (no one he sincerely valued anyways)and he knew that it was a perfectly reasonable and understandable choice to make.

He would have done it too, if it had been anybody else that was falling towards the ground.

If it had been anyone but Eren, he would have never darted forwards. He would have given in to internal warring, and he would have never caught the unconscious half-human in his arms. If it were anyone else in his life, he wouldn’t have a few of the titans slowly trailing behind him. There would be no concern about whatever reactions awaited him on the top of the Wall, no worries about what might happen as a result of his emotional recklessness.

Instead, he found himself more than slightly dazed and in front of many armed people looking like they were prepared to kill both him and the person he was carrying.

“Levi,” someone called, and he was dimly aware that it was Hange, “Why don’t you pass him over to me so I can inspect him for injuries?”

He didn’t respond, mainly because he was unsure if his voice would come out as either a whisper or a yell, or if it would even come out at all. 

The scientist walked closer, waving a hand in front of his face to catch his attention. It worked, and his eyes snapped back into focus in time to see Hange attempt to lift Eren out of his arms. He didn’t let them, instead shaking his head as he pulled the sleeping brunette closer to his chest.

“Okay then, that’s fine. You can hear me, right?”

He nodded quietly and struggled to keep his brain functioning and alert.

“Alright, follow me then,” Hange said, before gently pulling on his sleeve to drag him to a tent, probably one of Garrison’s pop-up infirmaries that they used in emergencies.

There was a basic medical setup on a table inside, as well as a couple of cots folded up in a corner. The scientist pulled one of them out and gestured towards it expectantly. Levi sat down on it, still not able to let go of the person he was carrying. Hange sighed and started examining both of them, checking them over for any visible cuts or blood.

As the adrenaline from his ill-received return slowly drained away, his brain started to function properly, allowing him to notice that Eren was once again only half-transformed. Thankfully, it seemed as though the worst of his injuries from the day prior had healed up during his brief time in his other forms, and even the bruises from where Levi had caught him weren’t as bad as they would have been on a normal human.

What really caught his attention was that the feathers that had previously coated just his arms were now spread over most of his chest, as well as bits of his neck and waist. His shirt and coat kind of just…disappeared into it, which he normally would have questions about, but he was too distracted by everything else to care.

His fingers traced idly over the scorching-hot lines that ringed the shifter’s eyes like scarred tear streaks. They hadn’t been there before, so it might have been an issue. He wished he knew.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there. It could have been a few minutes, or it could have been an hour. In all honesty, he didn’t particularly care. His brain was more than happy to have the time to process what in the fuck had happened as Hange bandaged up the few cuts on his arms from a couple badly timed wire shots.

A few people came into the tent at various times while he sat there. He could distinctly remember Erwin walking in, saying “Oh Walls,” and then walking out. Murder-Scarf popped in at some point too, as well as a few other members of the away party that had apparently returned. Like Erwin, they all left a moment after they saw a spaced-out captain holding someone who wasn’t fully human, but most of them didn’t bother to verbalize their surprise.

Eventually, he felt Eren stir, multicolored eyes blinking open to peer owlishly up at Levi. No, literally, he looked like a fucking owl, which was entirely too fitting, considering the soft brown feathers that were brushing against Levi’s skin. 

Hange immediately started to talk to him, launching questions like they were cannonballs until the captain glared at them with the sharpest expression he could muster. They giggled slightly before shutting up and sitting in a chair across the tent from the other two.

Eren tapped on his collarbone to catch his attention, and he looked down to see his lips moving, but there was no sound coming out. He looked frustrated and slightly scared as he moved a clawed hand to grab his throat, then proceeded to freak out even more when he saw his half-transformed body. Panicked tears formed in his eyes as he practically tore himself out of Levi’s arms, stumbling backwards so that he was pressed against the medical table.

On reflex, the captain attempted to rush over to him before realizing that it would only continue to scare the already terrified boy, so he sat back down as slowly and non-threateningly as possible. Eren was still speaking wordlessly, even as he seemed to relax a bit. 

Now, Levi wasn’t _completely_ horrible at lip-reading, quite the opposite in fact, but the terrified shifter was going so damn fast that he could only catch fragments of what he was trying to say. He could make out multiple repetitions of “monster”, “back” (then there was something-something, it was a short word, so he couldn’t really tell) “forest”, and the one sentence that he had begun to say over and over again as his shoulders started shaking, a phrase that was making Levi’s heart slowly crack in two.

“I’m so sorry”

Well, fuck. That _hurt_. A lot.

Completely unsure of what to do, he glanced over at Hange, who was giving him a nearly identical look of worry. They nodded their head towards the panicked brunette, indicating for him to get off his ass and do something. He, on the other hand, thought that he would only do more damage if he tried to help, so he made the same gesture right back. The scientist sighed and made very exaggerated hand signals as they mouthed "he likes YOU, not me".

He stared at them in frustration for a moment before giving in to the increasingly overwhelming urge to go and comfort the crying boy. Unfortunately, when he stood up again, Eren backed into the table, making some of the bandage rolls fall off as he hit it. Hange thankfully managed to catch them before they hit the floor though, so nothing too bad came of it. 

“I’m not going to hurt you, Eren,” he whispered, hoping that the use of his real name instead of one of the affectionate nicknames that he had given him would snap him out of his panic spiral.

By some miracle, it worked, and he stopped trying to merge with the tabletop behind him as Levi stepped closer, hesitating for a moment before pulling him into a hug. Even with the slightly awkward and ungainly wings, it was a position that both of them had grown used to, so eventually his shoulders dropped and the rest of the tension left his body. He was still shaking slightly, but that was probably due to the crying and not the fear of… well, Levi wasn’t entirely sure what he had been scared of. It hurt to think that maybe Eren was scared of _him_ , scared that he might attack him or something. Instead, he chose to think that he was afraid of judgement for his newly displayed ability, or that he had just been too out of it to realize who was with him and what had happened.

At some point, the shifter gave up on trying to keep himself upright, and instead just leaned further into the captain’s chest, ignoring the fact that it made him stumble slightly as he tried to rebalance. Hange laughed softly as Levi glared at them from where his head was buried in Eren’s soft hair, which only made them snicker harder, even as they tried to muffle it with part of their Scout cloak.

They stayed like that for a while, continuing for a few minutes even after the brunette eventually stopped crying. Technically, they never fully separated, since Eren was practically glued to his side even when they went outside, never going further than a few feet away as they made their way back to where the rest of the Scouts were sitting together.

Apparently, there was a similar situation happening in the middle of the small crowd of green cloaks. As it turned out, Mikasa was a lot less threatening when she was leaning on her friend for support as she cried into her knees. The rest of her teammates were gathered around them, offering comforting touches or words, which she did nothing to stop. 

Honestly, Levi had half expected her to have been her usual, downright murderous self, but it was clear that she was just as concerned for Eren’s safety as he was. Part of him realized that she had a good reason to be, considering there were literally hundreds of eyewitnesses to what had just happened, and there was no way that it was going to stay a secret for long. Eventually, the government would hear about it, and then would take the shifter into custody. If they were lucky, he would survive long enough for a proper trial, where he might actually have the smallest glimmer of a chance to live. But that was only if the people decided that he should, and judging from Garrison’s initial reactions, that probably wouldn’t happen.

Levi had already decided that if things went that far, he would kidnap Eren and go back outside the Walls to live with him in their forest for as long as necessary, no hesitation.

Eventually, Mikasa noticed her brother’s presence, and immediately elbowed her way through the crowd to throw her arms around him, sobbing into his feathered shoulder and muttering about how stupid he was. He gave her a half-smile and tried to hug her back as much as possible, but it was kind of hard since… well, bird arms.

Bookworm got up too and put one hand on Eren’s shoulder, the other on his sister’s, and gave them both wide grins to hide the tears that looked like they were about to start falling down his cheeks. He was quickly joined by Ponytail, who had seemingly decided that the shifter was her friend too, which made sense, since both of them were rather friendly and overall pretty nice.

After that, basically the whole circle shifted so that Eren was now at the center, and even Petra gave them a weak thumbs-up, although she still seemed rather terrified. It was to be expected, seeing as Levi’s squad had encountered more titans than most, and even with them knowing just how weird the shifter was, there was still the uneasy question of if he was going to turn into a monster at any moment and bite all of their heads off. Levi tried to ignore that idea, even as it pessimistically nagged at the back of his mind.

Once everyone had given as much comfort and well wishes as possible, they started asking questions, clearly extremely curious about what had happened in the past few hours. Unfortunately, since Eren couldn’t really speak at the time, Levi and Armin had to answer a lot of them, although it was mostly just the latter doing all of the talking so that the former didn’t hit some of the brats for the stupid things they asked. Armin explained what had happened after the away team had left, but any questions about Eren’s shifting abilities in general went to the captain. Hange occasionally butted in with science stuff about genetics or something, which only served to confuse most of them.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Erwin, well, _interrupted_ , “but I need most of you to go back, along with Eren. We need to plan a more permanent way to block the hole, and I want most of you to be at Headquarters to do damage control. Garrison has a stable post not too far down the Wall from here, so you can take horses back so that you don’t have to carry him.”

The other Scouts nodded and began picking up their stuff from where they had set it down. The two siblings disconnected from each other, since Mikasa had to get new gas tanks for the event of an emergency, and Eren immediately returned to Levi’s side, although technically he had never gone far from it in the first place.

However, as they prepared to start walking, Erwin called for the captain, who suddenly had to resist the urge to punch him. He told him to stay behind, which rationally made sense, seeing as he was a superior officer and all, but the other part of him said that he should stay with the person that he had to protect. Unfortunately, he knew that he couldn’t disobey the order, no matter how much he thought it was fucking stupid, so he stayed, quietly fuming as the commander gathered the other higher-ups to discuss strategy.

He wasn’t really listening, but from what he did pay attention to, it seemed like they were going to try and get exact measurements of the breach so that they could have some stonemasons and blacksmiths work on something that would hopefully recreate at least some of the Wall’s structural integrity. The asshole cult wasn’t going to like that idea one bit, and their probable outrage made Levi smirk slightly out of vengeful satisfaction.

It seemed like the damn meeting dragged on for eternity, but when he checked, the sun was still only about a quarter to the midpoint of its path, so it had only been about an hour since the others had left. They were probably back at Headquarters already, trying to figure out what had been burnt and what they were going to tell people about what had happened. Or maybe they were sitting in their (most-likely untouched, since it was stone and far away from Central) barracks, eating lunch and laughing. Either way, he hoped that they had enough brains between them to keep Eren hidden from everyone else.

When the annoying conversation was finally over, Erwin let the Garrison people get to work on their plans before turning to Levi and Hange.

“Well, now that that’s in progress, let’s head back to our own crisis at HQ,” he sighed, clearly not looking forwards to the shit that they would have to deal with back at their hopefully not _too_ crisped-up place of residence. 

The captain snorted and started walking towards the interior curve of the Wall.

“Are we taking horses or swinging back?”

“Your choice,” the commander said, before smiling slightly with an undecipherable look in his eyes, “but using the ODM gear would probably be faster.”

Levi glared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what _that_ stupid fucking implication meant, but he was too mentally exhausted to think about it for more than a few seconds, so he started swinging down into the now-titan free town below them. He laughed when the other two had to take a few minutes to catch up.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The trip back seemed a lot longer than the trip there, probably because there was no threat of impending doom to make them hurry. Once again, there thankfully weren’t any titans on the trip back, and this time there were no new dead bodies, much to their collective relief. Hopefully, there would be under 30 casualties, which was more than ideal for a situation like this.

They arrived back in Headquarters just before noon, which they only knew because it was signaled by the clock tower’s midday chimes, since the heavy layer of smoke and ash in the air was making it pretty hard to see the sun. The fog from the day before suddenly seemed a little less horrible, because at least that didn’t dirty your clothes just by being out in it.

“Well,” Levi said, scowling at the floating specks of soot as they tried to make contact with his cloak, “I’m guessing that you guys want to go do your own shit, so I’m gonna go check on the brats and see that they made it back alive.”

Hange and Erwin both nodded, probably anxious to see what the disaster had done to their offices. He was pretty sure that Eyebrows would have a stroke if all of his precious paperwork got burnt to ashes, something that the captain would take great delight in laughing at before getting him medical attention. Similarly, Shitty Glasses would probably start crying if anything happened to their lab, but Levi would at least be slightly sympathetic, even if it would only be for the innocent rats that didn’t deserve a fiery death.

The three headed off in different directions, all going to check up on important things. Well, Erwin would probably be doing commander shit too, like asking for reports and whatnot.

Since Amelie had been evacuated in the fire with the rest of the horses, Levi decided that he could use the bit of gas left in his tanks to swing his way over to the barracks, since the bruises from his gear would be better than taking even longer to make sure that Eren was safe. Plus, there were still some patches of flame that were being extinguished by a couple of the disaster-control squads, so it was probably safer to take to the rooftops.

When he did finally make his way through the only slightly charred forest, he found that the stone building was eerily quiet. The lights were on, so he knew that everyone had probably made it back safely, but there wasn’t any of the usual lunchtime hubbub leaking out through the doors and windows. He assumed everyone was either asleep or just being uncharacteristically quiet as they processed the day’s events.

As he walked up to the wooden doors, he heard footsteps come barreling down the stone hallway inside, and he barely had the time to back up as the doors were flung open. Someone ran out and grabbed him by the shoulders, making him yelp in surprise. The person that he least expected to ever get within 2 feet of him was now in absolute hysterics as she clung to his chest, even as he tried to pry her off.

“Oi, Murder-Scarf, the fuck are you doing, trying to suffocate me?!” he yelled, hands pushing at her head to make her let go, “If so, that’s one of the worst attempts I’ve ever had someone pull on me.”

She continued to absolutely break the fuck down while remaining attached to his chest, and Levi felt a sinking feeling creep up over him as he watched the other brats start to come out of the hallway to stare at the scene before them in shock.

They were missing a person. _His_ person.

“Where the fuck is Eren?” he demanded, becoming deathly still as his heart pounded against his ribcage.

Nobody would meet his eyes as they backed away in fear.

“L-levi they-” Mikasa sobbed, trying to choke out the rest of the words that sent chills down his spine.

“They took him!! And now he’s g-gone and they could, oh Walls they could kill him! And I don’t know what to do, and I know you love him as much as me! I-I can’t-”

She couldn’t continue after that, instead just completely melting down into hiccupping, crying, and hyperventilating all at once. Levi might have joined her, if not for the sheer amounts of pure fucking rage that hit him like a bathtub of ice-water. He turned completely rigid, hands balling into fists as the air around him literally dropped a few degrees in temperature. 

The other Scouts looked like they were immensely regretting their decision to come outside. A few of them almost made a break for the door, but were stopped when they saw the flat and terrifyingly frigid stare that threatened to bore straight through them if they ran away.

Levi raised his chin, zeroing in on each of them individually with his frosted, unblinking gaze as he felt himself become eerily calm and calculating.

“Where, _pray tell_ , did they take him, exactly?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooooooooh boyyyyyyyyyyy....... yeah..... fun!
> 
> Anyways, i hope your day has been/will be delightful! No matter which year you're reading this in! 
> 
> As always, I would like to thank everyone for putting a smile on my face and serotonin in my brain every time I check up on this story! I seriously love seeing all the support this has gotten, it makes my day every time!
> 
> A bit redundant at this point, but I'm just so excited, so Happy New Years'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D


	11. Chapter 11 (woohoo favorite Doctor!!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Eren gone, Levi finds out exactly how attached he is to him. Obviously, it sends him into a downward spiral, and the 104th has to take drastic measures to get him out of it. Somehow, he manages to have a not-hateful conversation with Mikasa, who hasn't been doing too great either, and they both realize that maybe they don't need to be trying to kill each other all the time. Erwin pops in a few days later with some interesting news, and its surprise after surprise from there.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -temporary depression (and obsessive cleaning)
> 
> -aftermath of fires/possibly arson
> 
> -secondhand embarrassment that hurt me to write
> 
> -manipulation from the one and only Commander Grandma!!
> 
> -descriptions of dungeons and cells and shit (wow that sounds like a great name for a DnD campaign)
> 
> -kinda mentions of torture? but not really
> 
> -hmmm gee wonder what this last one should be?? I'll give you a hint, some No-No Words are said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW I HAVENT POSTED SINCE LAST YEAR AHAHAAAHAAA *cue the laugh track*
> 
> Anyways, I'm sorry this one took a little longer than normal. I got part of it done on New Year's Eve, but most of the time I was either watching my cousin or sitting in the car listening to the Ready Player Two audiobook. 10/10 series though, definitely recommend giving it a read, or a listen I guess. It's narrated by Wil Wheaton, aka Wesley Crusher from Star Trek Next Generation (yes i'm a giant fucking space nerd)
> 
> Okay, moving on from my mini-rant there, I ended up deleting a lot of the original stuff for this chapter, so I basically started from almost scratch on the 2nd, since I was too tired on the 1st. Also, I have school starting up again in uh,,,,, holy shit its starting tomorrow!! I'm so not prepared, I have a French essay final due on Friday and I haven't done shit. Maybe I can just... idk, fake my death or something. I'm not gonna survive another semester of online classesssss ugh.
> 
> Shit, I'm complaining about nonsense again. Yeah so enjoy this chapter!!! Sorry if its a lil weird at parts, like i said, writing it was rough. Ok now have fun!

Two weeks. It took 2 _fucking_ weeks for them to get any information on what was happening to Eren.

At first, Levi had been completely ready to storm into interior’s stupid little city and get him back by any means necessary. The only reason that he didn’t is because Erwin physically wouldn’t let him, spewing some asshole bullshit about some stupid fucking plan he had. This unfortunately meant that Levi was forced to stay with the brats for the time being, and they wouldn’t fucking leave him alone in a room for more than a minute or two.

A few days into having the world’s worst group slumber party, Erwin finally let him fucking leave the building, even if it was only to check up on his apparently burnt room and get checked over by Hange. 

He sighed in dismay as he walked through the charred remains of his doorway, accompanied by… who was it again today? Their names were escaping him, but it was two girls who were too distracted by each other to pay too much attention to him, which was a nice relief from people watching him like he was about to run off. Which, you know, he might, but still, it was the principle of the thing.

His room was mostly burned to shit, which was pretty disappointing. There was melted soap in his bathroom, one of the only places that wasn’t fully ash, even though the ceramic parts had cracked from the intense heat. It was morbidly hilarious that it was so clean, despite the soot-stains that marred the pristine-white surface. Hell, there was still the lingering smell of cleaning supplies underneath the scent of burnt wood.

The most disappointing thing was probably the loss of his bed. It had taken a whole lot of persuasion and laundry volunteering to get blankets and pillows that fluffy, but now all of it was nothing more than scorched piles of ash and bits of feather bristles that painfully reminded him of the person that was currently sitting in a dungeon cell somewhere. He refused to think that he was dead, but he knew that he probably wasn’t being treated well, the thought of which made him want to attempt another jailbreak, both for himself and Eren.

The only thing really salvageable from the whole room was unfortunately all of his dress-uniform stuff, which was literally the sole thing that he would have been happy to lose. He scowled as he began to ruffle through it, debating if he should start another fire to get rid of it all, but a crinkling sound caught his attention.

Intrigued, he pulled out the note from a few nights ago, the one that he had forgotten about putting in his pocket. Suddenly, he was less inclined to get out some matches, and he tugged the paper out of where it was folded, pulling it open to reveal a couple lines of loopy writing.

‘hi Levi,’ it read, and he flushed as he read the heart-shaped dot over the I in his name, ‘I’m gonna miss you after I leave. I wish I didn’t have to go, but I’ll be fine, so don’t worry about me!’

His eyes kept going back over the last sentence. He wanted to…well, he didn’t even know. Save Eren, definitely, then make sure he was safe and that no one could ever fuck with him again.

The note felt like too much of a goodbye, one that sent literal pain coursing through his body, along with a lot of frustration and something empty that he couldn’t quite name. He pressed his lips into a thin line before folding the paper back up, placing it into his current pocket so that he wouldn’t forget it again.

“Come on brats, it’s all burnt to fuck, so let’s just go back. You can make heart-eyes at each other later, I’m hungry.”

The girls blushed and shied away from each other while he snorted at their stupidly mushy expressions. The taller one tried to look indifferent, but she failed miserably, and Levi rolled his eyes as he started walking back to his temporary prison, sorry, _place of residence_.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He spent the rest of the next week and a half trying to ignore the hollowness that was slowly gnawing at him from the inside out. At one point, it got so bad that he had started forgetting to eat. His healthy sleep patterns were already long gone, and he was lucky if he got an hour each night.

As one would expect, this made him rather irritable and snappy, which raised some concerns for his health. Once the 104th noticed that he was looking paler and more dead-eyed than normal, they decided that they would have to do something before he literally killed himself with worry.

Since Mikasa was in much the same state, this presented them with an opportunity to take out two problems at once. Both of them were slowly becoming more desolate and withdrawn, and right now their best hope at getting them back to normal was making them feel any type of emotion.

It took a while to plan, but eventually they decided that if they were stuck in the same room for long enough, one of them would eventually snap and start trying to murder the other, which would at least make them do something.

So, after two days of trying to make sure that they had (hopefully) little chance of being killed for messing with the two most unstable people in the building, they finally managed to talk them both into sitting in the same place. For Levi, they had Armin ask him for help cleaning Eren’s room, which was the one place that he hadn’t eradicated the dust and grime from. He looked a bit like a ghost at night, wandering around with a broom that he used both for hitting people and sweeping.

Mikasa was a little bit harder to convince. They had attempted to get her to read some of Eren’s books as a research-type thing, but she had just snapped at them that she would rather have him back than read some stupid words on a page. In fact, they had to stoop so low as to steal her scarf as she was sleeping and hide it in the room. Sasha said that she felt sort of guilty about locking her in with a rage-cleaning captain after she stormed in to search for it, but everyone else told her that there was a 70 percent chance of it helping them both. They really hoped it that it would work, because they would probably be in a worse position if it didn’t.

For the first time in at least 3 days, Levi was conscious about what was happening around him. He had little to no memory of what had gone on, and the only thing that he could really recall was the numbness that had filled his entire body. It had been easier to give into that than to think about…well, everything really. He had lost far too many important things in the past week, and his brain could only process so many emotions at once.

Now, though, it had decided to all come flooding back.

He realized with a syrupy sort of awareness that he was standing in a small room with a window that was letting in rays of painfully bright light onto the worn wooden floor. In another few moments, he took in the bed, bookshelves, nightstand, and finally the sullen-looking girl that was slumped over in the corner.

Oh. _Oh_.

The stupid fucking brats had put him in the one place that he least wanted to be in. Judging by Not-So-Murder-Scarf’s expression, he wasn’t alone in his desire to leave. Being in here without its proper inhabitant just seemed…off. A painful sort of off, one that made his already hollow chest ache even more than should have been possible.

He walked over the door and attempted to open it, only to frown when he realized it was locked. As if it wasn’t bad enough to trick him into coming in here, now they had trapped him with someone who may or may not want to kill him, which was just peachy. If he’d had the energy, he would yell at something or try and break the door, but he was slowly realizing that his hands were shaking in a way that probably wasn’t good.

“Fuck,” he sighed, flopping onto the bed dramatically, before standing up to fix the sheets so that he could do it again, properly this time.

“They’re such assholes.”

Slightly surprised, he looked over at the vaguely angry-looking Mikasa, who was leaning against one of the bookshelves. She was gazing in his general direction, but her eyes were so unfocused that she could have been looking at anything. It was more than a little unnerving to see her so despondent, mostly because he was used to her more murderous moods, but also because he realized that he had probably looked like that too, which was certainly not ideal.

“We could break the window,” he muttered, “Birdbrain has such huge fucking books that one would probably be heavy enough to shatter it.”

Her head snapped up at that, and she managed to turn slightly to look at the actual contents of the bookshelf. She trailed a finger over a few of their spines, trying to get close enough to read the tiny words.

“These are his? I thought they had always been there,” she said, gently pulling one of them off of the shelf it was resting on.

“How can you even think about that shit? Reading one of his books, I mean, while he’s…fuck…”

He trailed off, since he couldn’t force himself to make guesses at what was happening to the poor boy at the moment.

“Comfort, I guess. He liked reading when he was younger, not nearly as much as Armin, but he liked the fairytales that Carla told him. It reminds me of, I don’t know, happier days or something.”

“Carla, that’s his mother, right?” he asked, trying to ignore the slight jealousy over the fact that she knew more about Eren than he did.

“Yeah,” she nodded, running her fingers over the cover of the book that she had pulled out, “She was sort of my mom too, but not all the way. She was really nice, but I don’t think anyone could replace my actual mother.”

Levi was now rather interested in the possibility of new information about the missing shifter’s life before he met him, though he wasn’t sure if he would be able to hear it without getting hit by the incredibly complicated feelings that he had tried to push out for the past week. Still, it would be worth it to have potential blackmail material, and maybe he would even be able to get Mikasa to be less murderous towards him if he made it clear that he would never harm her brother.

“What happened then? He told me that his mom died and that you were adopted, but we didn’t have a chance to talk about the other shit.”

“It’s a long story,” she sighed, then stood to curl up on the bed with Eren’s book.

“Considering we’re fucking trapped in here, I think we have more than enough time.”

She let out a weak laugh at that before leaning back onto the pillow with a long and slightly pained sigh.

“Fine,” she said, after a moment of pause, “but you have to tell me how you met him. Fair trade and all that.”

“Sure, whatever. You start.”

“Well, we first met when we were around 6 or 7,” she began, sitting up so that she could speak more easily, “His dad, Grisha, was my mom and I’s doctor. Eren would always insist on coming to see me so that we could play together. Then, when he was nine and I was eight, me and my mom were waiting for them to show up for some appointment, but when we opened the door, it was some random strangers who tried to kidnap my mom so that they could, I don’t know, sell her or something. She went sorta crazy trying to protect me, and one of them stabbed her.”

“Shit, that’s fucked up.”

“Yeah, it was,” she took in a shaky breath, clearly not happy to relive the memory, “I watched her die trying to save me, then one of the kidnappers knocked me out. Next thing I knew, Eren was standing over a dead body with a knife, and there was another body in the corner. One of them tried to kill him by choking him against a wall, but I managed to kill him. His parents took me in after that. I spent the next 3 or 4 years with them, but then there was the Fall, and everything went to complete shit.”

Levi was oddly proud of both her and Eren after she finished. 3 kills between them at such a young age was moderately impressive, especially since they hadn’t grown up like he had. It gave him a little hope that maybe Birdbrain had managed to smash some stupid fucking MP’s skulls in before getting captured.

“So, since I said my depressing story, what happened with him and you?”

He snorted and sat up to face the other occupant of the bed.

“Apparently he’s real good at fuckin’ saving people’s lives as a way of greetings,” he sighed, and he couldn’t stop the faintly fond smile that spread across his face as he remembered their first proper meeting, not the deer incident (fuck the deer incident, he had gotten a concussion because of it), “Well, technically he dislocated my fucking knee at first, but I didn’t know it was him. Plus it was sorta my fault for falling out of a damn tree.”

Mikasa laughed at that, scarf falling off of her face as she did. Levi was glad that she didn’t look quite so sulky, even though it was still weird to see her do anything other than glare at him. He found himself hoping that she would perhaps hate him a little less after they were released from their confinement.

“Yeah, sure, laugh at my injury you fucking brat,” he rolled his eyes, making her giggle harder even as she tried to muffle it, “Anyways, I also got a nasty head injury, so I don’t remember much of the first few days. And no, that one wasn’t from falling out of a tree, it was because I got fucking lost after Eyebrows told me to go one some stupid solo mission.”

She gasped, eyes going wide.

“So you were outside the Walls?! And Eren was out there too, alone?!?”

“Oh relax, he was fine. His weirdo shifting powers and shit kept him safe probably. Besides, he wasn’t alone after he found me, even if I couldn’t fucking stand up.”

“How long were you out there?” she asked, genuine curiosity in her eyes.

“Eh, about three, four days before I woke up and actually met him,” he shrugged, “He couldn’t speak, which was a fucking pain in the ass, but he could write, and he had notebooks and shit for some reason. Walls only know how he managed to get writing materials in a fucking forest, not to mention illegal books, but it was lucky he did. I think total we spent around a month out there, with him waiting for me to get better while getting me food and being annoying.”

“Yeah that sounds like Eren all right. Seriously, what happened though, like details and stuff. Were there any titans that tried to attack you guys?”

He rolled his eyes, arms crossing over his chest as he tried to ignore the numb ache that was once more building in his chest. Life had been so much simpler back then, just him being able to enjoy being around Eren without any serious shit happening. Now he couldn’t even do that, which made him want to punch something, preferably the fuckers that had taken him away in the first place.

“Listen, I was in fucking agony for a good chunk of it, so sorry if I’m not a library of our forest adventures or whatever. Most of the time he would either fly me around or sleep on me. Do you know how much he fucking sleeps? Way too much. Even if he wasn’t passed out, he was doing some weird shit like showing me stuff or trying to make me read his books.”

“Well, did you?” she asked, then sighed when he looked at her in confusion, “Read his books, I mean.”

“Not really, I’ve never been one for staring at words for hours on end. Was I supposed to or some shit?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed before passing him the book that she had grabbed from the shelf. It wasn’t too thick, even with the worn pages, and the blue cover was probably the heaviest part about it. 

‘ _Celtic Mythology: Selkies and Other Shapeshifters_ ’ it read, and there was an embossed outline of a woman diving into water. She was wearing a stupidly long coat that billowed out as she plunged through the surface, revealing that everything under the surface was something vaguely fish-like.

“Huh, guess I should have read it then,” he said, frowning slightly at his own idiocy.

“No shit,” she snorted, “Not only does it have possible clues about whatever the fuck is going on with him, but it was also one of his favorite stories as a kid. His mom would talk about selkies all the time as a bedtime story. They’re humans, mostly women, that can turn into this odd, water-living animal called a seal, thanks to the magic coat that they have.”

“That’s…pretty fucking weird, even for Pre-Walls shit. Do you think Birdbrain’s jacket has anything to do with that?”

Mikasa turned a shade of bright pink, eyes suddenly becoming focused on the bedsheets beneath her.

“If it does…well, um, you’ll see. Just read the book later, I don’t think he’ll mind you borrowing it.”

There was a long moment of tense silence as they both remembered the horrible position that Eren was in at the moment. The book suddenly seemed pretty insignificant in comparison.

“Do you think they’ll let us out now?” he asked, trying to take his mind off of the terrifyingly negative and invasive thoughts running through his brain, “I don’t know about you, but I’m fucking starving.”

She shrugged and stood up from the bed before walking over to the door. This time, instead of rattling firmly, the handle turned when the pulled it, and the door swung open into an empty hallway.

“Oh good, now I can go yell at some brats for being brainless assholes.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was another 2 days before they got the news, but at least Levi was cognizant enough to hear and process it.

Hange had rushed into the barracks excitedly, nearly getting hit by a dart as it whizzed into the target painted to the right of the doorway. They yelped in surprise and flinched back from the circles, and there were multiple snickers as they eyed it suspiciously.

“I told you guys it was a bad idea to put the target there,” sighed the blonde named, oh what was it again, Crystal? No, Krista. Yeah, her.

“You’re lucky it was my turn Four-Eyes, these brats can’t aim for shit.”

A couple of them grumbled about how it was unfair that they were playing against him. Naturally, he gently punched the nearest one to shut them up as he sat down, arms crossing as he stared at the practically buzzing scientist.

“Ooooh playing darts huh? I was never really good at that,” they said, before shaking their head and clapping excitedly, “Anyways!! Erwin will be here in a second and boy oh boy will you love what he has to say!”

Levi raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Can’t you just tell us then? Eyebrows ‘ll just say some cryptic bullshit and confuse everyone.”

“Oh, I can guarantee that he won’t do that this time,” they laughed, then walked over to sit next to Levi with a stupid grin on their face.

Since talking about the commander apparently summoned him, he walked in the door literally as Hange finished talking, a half-smirk on his face as he leaned against the doorframe. The 104th tensed slightly, since they weren’t quite confident around Erwin no matter how much the captain talked shit about him.

“What won’t I do?”

“Oh, Levi was ju-” he cut them off by clamping a hand over their mouth, making the other Scouts snicker around them.

“Anyways,” the captain said, glaring at the scientist as he removed his hand from their mouth, “Shitty Glasses says you have some news?”

Erwin turned serious and stood up straighter.

“Well, do you want the good news or bad news or bad news first?” he asked, looking out at everyone so that they knew that he was asking all of them.

Unfortunately, no one in the room was ever very optimistic about anything, so they all sighed in a resounding chorus of “Bad news firstttt”. The commander nodded and pulled an envelope out of his back pocket. He passed it to Hange, who passed it to Levi, who opened it out of curiosity. The other Scouts crowded around him to read what was written on the long slip of pretentious-looking paper.

‘ _Commander Erwin Smith of the Scout Regiment,_

_I am writing in response to the letter you sent a week ago, about the person we took into custody out of your Headquarters. According to reports, the subject has an extreme potential for danger, and is therefore being held in the underground dungeons as a necessary precaution. He is, however, very much alive, mostly because the doctors and scientists can’t get near him long enough for examination, seeing as he attacks anyone that comes within a few feet of him. Thankfully, no one has been injured thus far, but his aggressiveness has been duly noted in my report, which brings me to the topic of his trial. I believe Zackly has scheduled it for the 30th of March, so mark your calendar. You undoubtedly know the Military Police’s stance on the matter, but both Garrison’s opinion and that of the general population remains to be seen._

_As always, it’s been… rather fascinating to correspond with you. Sincerely, Nile Dok._ ’

By the end of the last sentence, Levi was trying to burn holes in the letter with his eyes. Fuming, he passed the paper back to the others so that they could see it better, and it quickly became clear that he wasn’t alone in his anger. The others all made various sounds of disbelief and frustration, and he heard at least two people say that it was bullshit, which was a sentiment that he wholeheartedly agreed with.

“Hey Four-Eyes, what’s today’s date?” he asked, trying to keep the utter resentment out of his voice.

“I think it’s either the eighteenth or the nineteenth, so it’s about another two weeks until the trial.”

Levi stood up abruptly, already making plans about how to break into the stupid fucking dungeon, but was once again stopped by Erwin, who grabbed his shoulder before he could even get through the fucking door.

“Move, Eyebrows,” he hissed, trying to elbow the commander out of the way, “You and I both know that he’s not gonna survive another week in that fucking place. I need to get him out of there immediately, so fuck your stupid plan and let. me. leave.”

“Levi, stop,” Erwin grabbed both of him arms, making him pause for a moment before he got even more pissed, “Eren’s technically still a minor, so he has a few extra legal protections. One of them, if you’ll let me speak, is the good news part of what I was trying to say.”

He glared at him for a moment, before crossing his arms and stepping back. Unfortunately, he was interrupted before he could ask what in the fuck the commander was talking about.

“Commander, the 30th is Eren’s 18th birthday. He won’t be a minor for long, so whatever you want to do, it needs to be fast.”

The captain turned around to see that the new speaker was Armin, who was holding Murder-Scarf’s wrist as she tried to pull herself away, probably to attempt what Levi had just failed to do.

“The- so you mean to tell me that Birdbrain’s trial is on his fucking _birthday_?!” he demanded, then whirled back to Erwin, who was frowning in thought, “This better be some really good fucking news, or else I will literally go straight to that damn dungeon and save him myself.”

“Well, short of them letting him go, I don’t think you’d be satisfied with anything I say at the moment. But ignoring that, you should be happy to know that people under the age of 18 are allowed visits from family while they await trial, and that includes adopted family.”

Mikasa appeared between them, now-freed hands coming to rest on her hips.

“What are we waiting for then?! I’m going to go fu- _freaking_ insane if I can’t see my brother soon,” she shouted, somehow looking frustrated, relieved, smug, and absolutely ecstatic all at the same time.

“I’m coming too,” Levi announced, gently shoving her to the side, “As an escort or some shit, I don’t give a fuck how you get me in there.”

“Hah, no. I’m Eren’s family, not you, but I’ll tell you how it goes, ‘kay lover boy?”

“Oh fuck you Murder-Scarf,” he glared at her, flicking her forehead with a little more force than necessary, “Eyebrows, if you don’t bring me along I’ll steal your favorite paperwork pen, the one with the clicky on it. You can’t hide it from me forever.”

Erwin looked mildly horrified at the threat, and nodded quickly, much to Mikasa’s annoyance.

“I mean, you could probably claim to be related to her, seeing as you look rather similar,” he said, and they both gaped at him.

“What?! I look nothing like him!!”

“Are you fucking blind? We're literally nothing alike. Even Four-Eyes can see better than you.”

Their combined sputtering made the other Scouts behind them snicker, and Levi couldn’t decide who he wanted to glare at more. He settled on Hange, who was cracking up while leaning on Ponytail. Well, technically they both had ponytails, but still.

“Levi, Mikasa, I hate to break it to you,” Erwin smiled, eyes sparkling with barely concealed amusement, “but you two could pass for twins if you tried. You have nearly the exact same color of eyes and hair, and from what I’ve seen, you act the same too. All things considered, it’s the easiest way to get you in.”

“Oh please,” she snorted, crossing her arms, “as if this hobgoblin has the finesse, skill, looks, or _height_ to be an Ackermann.”

The room fell dead silent as Levi’s eyes went wide. Erwin looked like he was about to pass out, and the only audible sound was Hange desperately trying to breathe as they cackled in sheer delight. Mikasa looked around at the too quiet room, then gasped when the realization hit her.

“No. You have got to be fucking kidding me. Please, there’s no fucking way-” she said, clearly not believing the…whatever the fuck had just happened.

“Hey Eyebrows, do you think you could just fucking kill me right now? It would be much appreciated, thanks.”

Mikasa continued to sputter in disbelief as Levi ran his hands through his hair, shaking his head slowly as he came to terms with the sudden discovery.

“You know what?” he sighed, turning back to the commander, who was looking between them, lips pursed in thought, “Let’s just fucking go. One crisis at a time, we can deal with…whatever this bullshit is later.”

“Yes, that’s probably a good idea,” Erwin agreed, before promptly spinning on his heel and walking out of the room.

The other two followed, glaring at each other suspiciously as they tried to spot any similarities between them. Unfortunately, once you looked properly, they were _incredibly_ obvious, and both of them felt extremely idiotic for not noticing them before. 

It was going to be a long, long ride to the Interior.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The trio arrived as the sun was setting, but the trip felt like it had dragged on for much longer than six or seven hours. Granted, all three of them were rather anxious the entire time, which probably contributed to their slowed perception of time’s passage, but even without the uncomfortable feeling, the scenery on the ride was just so damn _boring_.

The most interesting thing on the whole trip was when they passed through the two or three cities that seemed to be preparing for the equinox festivals that would start in about a day or so. Honestly, Levi had completely forgotten that the midpoint of spring would be happening soon. There was really no reason to celebrate, not when Eren was still fighting for his life in a cell somewhere.

Mikasa, on the other hand, seemed rather intrigued by the ribbons that people were stringing up, and the captain watched her look in awe at some of the paper lanterns that were hung overhead. He wondered if she had never seen any sort of spring festival before (he had never been to Shinganshina while it was still standing, so he had no clue what life had been like out there), but he decided not to ask about it.

When they did finally arrive after the fucking _long_ ass trip that left all of them aching and exhausted, it was Levi’s turn to gape at the decorations. These were much more lavish and beautiful than the ones that they had seen on the way there, probably because the people who lived in the Interior could afford that sort of thing. He noticed lots of actual fucking flower garlands hanging on nearly every door and window, as well as multiple trellised arches that had been built specifically for the upcoming holiday.

The worst part though, was the fucking pollen that was literally everywhere. It clung to his hair and his clothes, and what should have been a pleasant, floral smell was now invasive and headache-inducing. To be fair, that was a pretty good example of how it felt to be in the Interior. It looked nice, and it certainly sounded wonderful to someone outside of the innermost Wall, but once you were there you could plainly see that the grandness of it all was being used like a too-perfect coat of paint to conceal the corruptness underneath.

Ignoring his distaste for the noble life and all the mess that came with it, he could almost appreciate the dazzling appearance, even if it was a bit much for any of his senses. The cobblestone beneath their horses’ hooves was just slightly too well aligned to be natural-looking, but it could pass if you weren’t particularly paying attention to it. All the buildings seemed like cookie-cutter copies of the same model, though they were painted different and made with various materials to make them look like they had some semblance of personality and life. It...didn’t really work.

The most horrible part about it though, was, without a doubt, the people who lived there. They were all either merchants, members of the Military Police, or nobles that had made themselves buddy-buddy with the royal family. This meant that they had not a single care other than their own lives, appearances, power, and most importantly, money. It showed even as they milled about the city, doing their daily socializing. If you paid attention, which Levi was an expert at, you could see their too-sharp smiles and forced politeness, even as they passive-aggressively made snide remarks about the people that they were talking to. They were always slightly too rigid to look like normal people, eyes blank as they put on different masks to appease their company and increase their social standing.

Levi realized, with a settling sense of creepiness, that they looked rather like a child’s dolls, given faked personalities and even more faked friendships. They were puppets on strings, if they were told to go gossip in the courtyard, they would. Go to your blank-slate dollhouse and interact with your expectedly pleasant and perfect-looking family? Oh yes, I’m sure Lady Proudmoore would _love_ to hear about how well your well-mannered and surely prodigal children are doing at tomorrow’s brunch. If you or one of your carbon-copy relatives did something off-script, it was considered a scandal, hot gossip, the new talk of the town.

To say that the captain hated it would be an understatement at best.

He was more than incredibly relieved when they reached the nearest entrance to the underground tunnels that would lead to the dungeon. It was hidden away from the doll-faced citizens, tucked into a nondescript but still too-shiny alleyway. Hell, it had even been fucking decorated with ribbons and roses that were hung from the wooden arch that led into darkness. 

“Walls, I hate this fucking city,” he sighed as he dismounted from his horse and tied the reins to a nearby post.

Mikasa looked deflated, clearly not happy that her illusion of a paradisiacal haven had been so quickly shattered.

“It’s just so…empty. It doesn’t feel like anyone lives here at all.”

The older Scouts nodded sympathetically. Both of them had realized a long time ago that the Interior was not as perfect of a place as anyone made it out to be.

“Yeah, well at least their dungeons have some character,” Levi sighed, gesturing into the dim hallway that awaited them, “If you can count dark and mildewy as ‘character’.”

“Oh, don’t forget the suffering,” the commander said, voice echoing slightly as he began to descend into the tunnel, “or the general air of unhappiness and pain, those are both important parts of the lovely personality that this place has.”

Levi snorted at Mikasa’s slightly shocked expression. Apparently, she hadn’t realized that superior officers had a sense of humor, albeit a rather fucked up version of it.

“Alright then Eyebrows, since you’re the man with a plan or whatever type of bullshit, where do you think he’s being held?”

Erwin paused for a moment as he grabbed a torch out of its sconce. He pulled out a map from his pocket and studied it with the aid of his newly acquired light source.

“Alright, if I had to guess, which I do, he’s in the highest security area. Thankfully, we can get through because of Mikasa’s right to visit, which we can extend to you too. I’ll say I’m chaperoning you, but I doubt they’ll ask me anyways, seeing as I’m a commander and all.”

“What, so holding the record for highest number of titan kills doesn’t count for shit?” Levi said dryly, rolling his eyes in sarcastic annoyance, “Guess I’ve been wasting my whole life then! Looks like a decade of paperwork for me if I want to be important and recognized like you, oh great one.”

The commander sighed and turned a corner, but both of the other two could see that his shoulders were shaking with silent laughter.

“Are you two normally like this when you’re alone?” Mikasa whispered, attempting to keep her voice from echoing up to the blonde.

“What, me and Eyebrows? He’s an asshole sometimes, but when he has some decent qualities. Did you know that he fucking crochets? He’s essentially an evil, militaristic grandmother that gets off on manipulating people for his batshit crazy plans.”

“You do realize I can hear you two, right?” the ‘grandmother’ in question called, voice easily carrying back to the pair following him.

“Oh, I know you can, Granny. You’ll be pleased to know that I talk shit about you all the time, since I can’t have all the Scouts worshipping the fuckin’ ground you walk on.”

Erwin laughed, even as Mikasa looked back and forth between them in confusion. Levi supposed that it was a little weird that he talked about one of the most powerful men in the military like he was just another ordinary person, but it was too normal for him to care. Eyebrows and Shitty Glasses made the waiting period in between expeditions slightly less boring, even if they were both incredibly frustrating at times.

“Alright, we should reach the first guard point in 3…2…1”

True to his word, when they turned the next corner, there were two MP’s standing in front of a doorway, chatting idly while chucking in apple between them in a game of toss or some shit. They both jumped when they noticed the Scouts approaching, and immediately tried to look like they were doing their job instead of slacking off. If all of them were like this, Levi could have broken in and snuck out _so_ easily.

“Who are you?” one of them called, hand at the hilt of his sword.

“I’m Commander Erwin Smith, here with visitors for someone you have in custody.”

They looked at each other in surprise, then back to the trio to eye them in a manner that was supposed to be threatening or something. 

“Alright, if you are who you say you are, then you should know that people down here don’t get to have visitors,” the sword one said smugly, as if he had just completely outsmarted the commander.

Levi felt Erwin’s mood change as he stepped closer, authority and confidence being replaced with a patronizingly sweet posture that one would use when talking to a child.

“Actually,” he grinned, slowing down his words slightly, as if he were talking to someone with a room-temperature IQ, “You see, according to Subsection 9 of the 10th Law, that's the one regarding the treatment of military prisoners, in case you don’t remember, it quite clearly states that-”

The MP’s both shook their heads vigorously, clearly not wanting to listen to legal nonsense, especially from a commander who was treating them like toddlers. The captain almost scoffed at how easily their minds were changed. It had literally only taken one sentence for them to believe what they were told, which would probably get them killed if they weren’t prissy little Interior brats.

“Yeah, okay, whatever, just go through already. We have more important things to do than worry about people who want to get a look at that creature thing.”

Both Levi and Mikasa went rigid with anger when they heard Eren referred to in such a dehumanizing way. Erwin had to give them both exasperated looks in order to stop them from decking the shitty guards.

They passed them, thankfully without inciting violence, and continued down the better-lit hallway until they reached the next guard station. And then the next. And the one after that. The guards all had practically the same interaction, and Levi had started to mutter the intro to the legal bullshit under his breath as the commander recited it each time. He had managed to get about halfway through the subsection at the fourth station, which had to be some sort of record.

It all ended the same, and they were waved through as soon as the MP’s got bored of Erwin’s speech, which was rather convenient for them, but it was also some of the shittiest guard-work that any of them had ever seem. The fact that they were let into such a high-security area so damn easily was nearly comedic, in an abysmally pitiful sort of way.

By the end, they had gone through seven fucking pairs of guards, and Levi was pretty sure that he would hear ‘According to Law 10, Subsection 9, minors are allowed…’ in his dreams whenever he slept next.

They turned the corner to see a cell that was two times as big as the others that they had seen on the way there, and much more well-lit. There were people in long leather coats standing in one corner, presumably scientists, judging by their quiet chatter and note-taking. Additionally, in the other corner, there was a man who was on his knees as he held some sort of necklace-thing. It took the captain a moment to realize that he was praying, and his mood immediately became worse than it already was. He most definitely did not have the energy to deal with religious freaks again.

Ignoring his disdain for the cultist, he turned his attention to the much more important person in the back of the cell, who was holding his knees so that he was curled into a ball as much as possible, even though his feathered wrists and bare ankles were chained to the floor.

Eren, _his_ Eren, the person that he had promised to protect, looked absolutely miserable, and dear _Walls_ did Levi want to punch someone for hurting him like that.

Before anyone could stop him, he flung open the already slightly ajar grated door and darted inside, slipping past the surprised scientists so that he could kneel in front of the despondent shifter. Eren’s head snapped up and he growled defensively before he noticed who was with him. 

Immediately, his expression became flooded with joy and relief, and Levi swore the whole damn room got sunnier when he smiled. He attempted to throw his arms around him, but was stopped by the handcuffs that attached him to the wall, so he settled for an absolutely delighted trill.

“Hey brat,” he sighed, weeks of emptiness and tension leaving his body in one big, dizzying rush.

“Miss me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hooooOO BOYYY REUNION TIME!! Also, gave yall a little sprinkle of lore/foreshadowing (loreshadowing?? can we make that a thing?) in there, as well as a WoW reference for fun because why the fuck not. I've been playing Shadowlands for the last two days and watched some of the older cinematics, so I guess that's why.
> 
> Anyways, if any of you can give me some french advice or sumn before i beat myself to death with a stale baguette, that would be absolutely lovely... gosh i fucking hate future tense shit...
> 
> As always, a giant fucking thank you to everyone who's supported this story!! I hope you all have a wonderful 2021, because goodness knows we need it after whatever the fuck happened last year. Love yall and thanks for reading,   
>  ~MatchstiQs


	12. Chapter Twelve (back at it with the mush gushy feels)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The visit with Eren leads to some rather interesting events, but it ends up being cut short because... violence. Yeah, that works.
> 
> A lot more shit happens back at HQ, including Levi being a pining bitch. Also, this is one of the first chapters where I FINALLY get to pull out my lore notes, and i get to revisit my original inspiration for this whole mess.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -Mentions of torture, abuse, violence etc. Eren's in a jail cell so... yeah
> 
> -F E E L I N G S
> 
> -Do I really have to keep mentioning the cussing? Yes, in fact, I do, because it's boring just having 2 warnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean for this to take so long, I'm so sorry!! I felt like it was sort of choppy, and i spent a good day and a half trying to make it flow a little better. Not entirely sure if it worked, but here's hoping. So yeah, between my slight loss of confidence and the fact that school is being an absolute d r a g, this one took a bit longer than I would have liked.
> 
> Anyways!! Thanks for all the support on the last chapter! The comments mean so frickin much to me, so seriously thank you!. Enjoy!!!

The longer Levi was around Eren, the more he realized just how fucking _addicted_ he was to the shifter’s presence.

Even as Mikasa fussed over her brother and Erwin practically interrogated him, they both stepped around the captain as he just sat there, riding the giddy wave of relief that occurred after even just seeing Eren. Similarly, the brunette looked like he was beside himself with sheer delight as he absolutely beamed at the three familiar faces. His smile was fucking dazzling, even though his lips were cracked and bleeding.

In fact, the longer he looked, the more he noticed the worrying indicators of Eren’s apparent health issues. He was way too pale to be normal, not Levi’s level of pale, but his regular golden-brown skin tone now looked concerningly sallow. His usual vibrant and emerald green eyes were faded to a lackluster and glassy shade, minus the gold that still danced inside them, but even that seemed pained and sad. Even worse, the aura of soothing warmth that should have surrounded him was gone, and his actual skin was lukewarm at best. 

Walls, they had even fucked with his damn hair. It was now even more choppy and tangled than it had been in the weeks prior, with a couple bits being weirdly long, while others looked like they had been cut off only a centimeter or two from his scalp. Levi ended up giving in to the urge to run his fingers through it, muttering about tangles and shitty haircuts as Eren yelped in surprise at the sudden tugs. Erwin snickered slightly from behind him, only to be met with a pointed glare that made him sigh and leave to question the scientists some more.

Both the captain and Mikasa were giving Eren the Ackermann equivalent of one of Hange’s inspections, which was to say that they were both checking him over for visible injuries while scowling protectively whenever anyone so much as looked at him. The shifter seemed like he was rather pleased to have all the attention, especially when Levi started straightening the feathers on his wings. 

“Does he look skinnier to you?” Mikasa asked, confirming some of the captain’s suspicions, “And a lot paler too… Eren, what happened in here?”

The brunette slumped over again, shaking his head as he drew his knees to his chest.

“Hey, Birdbrain, it’s okay,” Levi murmured, hands delicately cupping his face to get him to look up from the floor, “Do you want something to write on? You can put down names and I’ll punch the fuck out of them if you want.”

Mikasa made a hum of approval, though it was probably for the punching rather than the writing bit. Eren, on the other hand, shook his head vigorously and shuddered at the last sentence, which made alarm bells go off in the captain’s head. He had a sinking feeling that something really shitty had happened while the shifter had been in here, something that he was too scared to tell them about.

He stood up, eliciting a whine from the half human in front of him, and proceeded to walk over to where Erwin was trying to get information from the small group of people in lab coats. Clearly, it wasn’t going so well, since the cultist and what Levi assumed to be the lead scientist were practically yelling at each other. The poor commander was stuck in the middle, attempting to mediate the argument, but from the looks of it, he was failing miserably.

Since they were distracted, he snagged one of the notebooks and a pencil from among the various strange devices on the table behind them, then slipped back before anyone realized he was there. He passed the materials to Eren, who gave him a smile as he accepted them. 

There was a little bit of a struggle, since the shifter’s fingernails were annoyingly long and incredibly sharp. Like the rest of his upper body, it was like they were caught halfway between human and bird, just on the balancing edge of civilized and wild. They weren’t quite talons, not quite thick or pointed enough for that, but they certainly weren’t something that you’d see on a normal person. 

Eventually, he did manage to write damn near half a page, even if it was a bit more sloppy than normal. He passed it back to Levi, and gestured for Mikasa to read it too.

‘ _okay first: you don’t have to punch anyone for me, I swear. I’m not going to say it’s been fun in here, because that would be a big lie. it’s just, I’ve been bored a lot, and these people aren’t as nice as Hang-ie (that’s how its spelled right? I’ve never seen it on paper) but I’m mostly okay I think._

_the worst part is maybe how much I miss the sun. there’s no windows in here, and I just feel really trapped all the time, but I think that’s because I can’t get myself to change into anything no matter how hard I try, which is soooooo annoying, you have no idea how frustrating it is! and you guys, too, I miss everyone. are they all okay? I hope no one worried about me too much._

_anyways there’s one big thing I want to apologize for, so Kasa stop reading right now! or you probably will no matter what I write, since you’re so protective, ugh._ ’

The captain was suddenly very glad that he had kept the bottom part of it folded over. He glared at Murder-Scarf until she eventually rolled her eyes and walked away, leaning against the crumbly wall so that she could finish fixing Eren’s feathers where Levi had left off. Once he was sure she wouldn’t try to grab the paper or something, he unfolded the rest of the mini-letter and continued reading.

‘ _okay, I hope she’s gone, but oh well if not._

_Levi, I wanted to say I’m sorry, for everything. I know I can’t even start to say how bad I felt not telling you about the titan thing, and I really hope you forgive me someday. in my defense, even though I know you don’t like excuses, I didn’t want you to die, and I just got really scared for you. I should have told you sooner, but I was really worried that you would hate me for being a monster, so if you do hate me for either keeping it a secret or because I turned out to be one of the bad guys, I’ll understand. I was going to tell you about it when you came back, but then I got arrested and brought here and everything got messed up._

_so yeah. I’m really, really, reallllllyyyyy, 100 percent, totally sorry. it’s okay if you’re mad at me, I made you worry because I’m stupid and selfish, and that’s something I seriously regret. Though I don’t feel bad about saving you, since you kind of needed it at the time. please don’t hit me for saying that, I’m really sore._ ’

Levi almost laughed at the ending of it, but it dissolved in his suddenly too-tight chest. Did Eren really think that all of this fucking shit was his fault? Was he so damn _stupid_ that he genuinely hoped that no one would worry about him, when it was painfully clear that they had every reason to? Why did this fucking idiot have to be more concerned about other people’s happiness than his own life?!

Levi wanted to scream at something, anything. He wanted to berate Eren for being so damn careless about his own safety, or maybe tell him off about how ridiculous it was for him to think that he, of all people, would ever hate him for any reason at all. Worse, he still had the incredibly strong urge to find and kill whoever had trapped him here in the first place, and then proceed to get Eren back to where he belonged, no matter where he decided that was. (Levi desperately hoped that the answer to that would be to stay with him.)

Unfortunately, no matter how many escape-plans he made or how many murderous wishes he had, he knew that he couldn’t act on them. If he did, it would only put Eren’s life in more danger, which was the one thing he absolutely refused to do, no matter what effect it would have on his mental state.

So, for now, he decided that a hug would have to do.

He leaned forwards and wrapped his arms around the shifter’s slightly too cold torso, holding on as tightly as he could without hurting him, afraid that if he let go, he would lose him all over again.

“I forgive you, idiot,” he murmured, burying his face in Eren’s soft and mostly detangled hair, “Not like I was ever mad at you in the first place though, I hope you know that.”

The brunette cooed happily and melted into the hug, ignoring his sister’s protests when he moved his arms to return the gesture. She glared semi-murderously at the pair, then just shook her head and sighed in annoyance. Levi let himself smirk victoriously out of sheer smugness and satisfaction, but it wasn’t like she could see it anyways, since his lips were still pressed into Eren’s hair.

He didn’t want to let go. It would have been perfectly fine if he could have stayed like that forever, feeling warm and content and incredibly comfortable, but _apparently_ he couldn’t even have more than a fucking minute of peace.

There was a tap at his shoulder, and he reluctantly turned around to see a very annoyed looking cultist standing above him. He ignored the urge to roll his eyes out of annoyance, but he instead disentangled himself from the rather nice hug so that he could fully face the rudely interrupting asshole.

“What do you want?” he sighed, voice flat and mildly pissed off.

“I’ll need to see that letter,” he said haughtily, like he could just tell Levi what to do, “It’s a message from the Great One, and thus needs to be shared with the people. Please hand it over immediately.”

The captain seethed quietly, gritting his teeth as he stood up to properly glare at the robed man.

“Yeah, that’s gonna be a no from me.” He shifted so that he was directly blocking the path to Eren, who was making multiple confused and distressed sounds. “You see, the thing is, I really don’t care about your religious bullshit. More importantly, the shit on that paper is none of your damn business, so you can go back to whatever you were doing with those scientist fuckers.”

“Oh but surely you know that the Will of the Angel can only be interpreted by his followers! You just confirmed that you are not one, and therefore your words and protest is invalid.”

Levi had to take multiple deep breaths to keep himself from doing something incredibly stupid. It would have been unimaginably satisfying to tell this asshole where he could shove his “Angel’s Will”, but Erwin was watching him expectantly from the other corner. When the fuck did Eyebrows get someone to make him tea, and more importantly, how? (He had not, in fact, noticed the small kettle sitting on top of a Bunsen burner, mostly because it blended in all too well with the other science equipment.) 

“Now please,” the cultist continued, holding his hand out with a pointedly polite expression, “the letter.”

Next thing Levi knows, there was a vicious smile on his face and the asshole was clutching his nose as it bled onto the floor.

He wasn’t quite sure what pushed him over the edge. Maybe it was the stupid, holier-than-thou smirk that the preacher had given him. Maybe it was the fact that he was asking for something that Eren had given to him, not to “the people”. 

To be honest, it doesn’t really matter, the sheer rush of satisfaction and adrenaline made it worth the disappointed looks he got from Erwin. He rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly unhappy with the captain for being reckless, but he was definitely not surprised in the slightest that it had happened. 

The only thing that he truly regretted was that the commotion had drawn the attention of a few guards, who frowned at the odd scene before them. To be fair, it was probably rather odd to see a Scout Captain standing over a priest with a broken nose, not to mention a commander, a team of scientists, a random girl in a scarf, and a half-bird half-boy watching in various states of shock.

Before the MP’s could figure out what exactly was going on, Erwin practically dragged the two Ackermanns out of the cell, calmly explaining that they were just about to leave while ignoring their protests. He had to glare sternly at Levi when he tried to yank himself away to go back inside, but once the door was shut, he let them both go.

“Do you have any idea how stupid that was,” he sighed, grabbing a new torch from the wall, “the Wall Cult already hates the Scouts enough, and you really don’t want to fan those flames Levi.”

“Oh please,” the captain grumbled, even though he was smiling softly at Eren through the metal bars when the shifter waved at him in a small goodbye, “you know as well as I do he deserved that shit. I hope they send someone to complain at HQ so I can punch that one too.”

Mikasa tried to muffle her snort, but failed miserably, and it quickly turned into echoing laughter as they turned a corner, obscuring the cell from sight.

“You- oh my Walls the look on his face when you decked him! No disrespect, Commander, but in my opinion, that was definitely worth it.”

“See Eyebrows? Murder-Scarf agrees with me for once.” He crossed his arms as he continued walking, ignoring his instinct to turn back and grab Eren out of that miserable room to escape with him. “And the damn Cult can bite my ass, he started it with that letter bullshit.”

Erwin sighed in exasperation, hands reaching to rub at his temples as a gesture of annoyance.

“Why didn’t you just hand it over?! This incident is going to give me an entirely new stack of paperwork, and we’re running low on ink recently.”

“Gee, maybe because I don’t want Birdbrain to turn into even more of…whatever the fuck they made him out to be. You know fully well that they can spread stories all they want, but the second they get something material, shit’s just gonna get a whole lot worse.”

To prove his point, he crumpled the letter, even though it pained him slightly to do so, and dropped it through the nearest torch’s flames. They all paused to watch it burn itself into a pile of ashes, briefly illuminating a patch of the damp and crumbling floor.

When Levi was satisfied that it had been sufficiently destroyed, the three of them continued walking, passing through the mostly unaware guards. 

They bickered nearly all the way back to HQ.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

When they got there, the moon was hanging somewhere near the first quarter of its usual path, but they were all too tired to care exactly what time it was. Erwin left them with a silent nod, branching off to go to his own quarters while the other two continued their way to the 104th’s barracks. Apparently, all of them were sleeping, since the stone building was dark and quiet when they got there. Levi couldn’t blame them, it was already pretty late, and he was completely exhausted himself.

He flopped onto the spare cot that had been his bed for the past few weeks with a sigh. It felt fucking _amazing_ to be in a horizontal position after either walking or riding all day, even though he was still fully dressed and desperately wanted to shower so that he could get rid the few bits of pollen that were still in his hair. Unfortunately, the showers were bound to be loud and cold, and he didn’t want to risk waking anyone up, especially not someone who would assault him with questions about the visit.

Ignoring the grimy feeling that crawled over his skin, he stripped down to something more comfortable to sleep in, folding his overclothes neatly and putting them underneath the small cot.

He realized when he laid back down that his shitty luck had struck once again, because he was just now noticing the palm-sized tear in the center of the taut fabric rectangle. Gritting his teeth, he stood up again to inspect it, and saw that there was only a tear because one of the thin support beams had snapped, which had made the material stretch way more than it should have. Damn underfunding bullshit just HAD to ruin his chance at some decent sleep. Even worse, when he checked the supply closet for another, there was nothing in there except cleaning supplies and a shit ton of cobwebs.

This was a _really_ shitty problem that he had found himself in. His options were limited, and none of them were particularly good.

The easiest one would be to just sleep on the floor, but there was no fucking way _that_ would ever happen. He shuddered to think about how many things he had seen spilled over the last few weeks.

Secondly, he could just stay up all night again, which was also a hard pass. It had been an absolutely draining day, in more ways than one, and he wasn’t sure he could stay up for the next 30 minutes, let alone until dawn.

Unfortunately, this left him with only one other option, which was to use someone else’s bed for the night. The only empty one in the building was in Eren’s room, so he would either have to wake someone up or deal with all the complicated emotions that would come from sleeping where the shifter should have been. Granted, they had shared a bed before, but he would be alone this time, in a space that wasn’t his, which felt a tad invasive.

Apparently, his instincts made the decision for him, because he found himself standing in by the entry to the single-windowed room not even a few moments after he had considered the idea. He was far too tired to complain, so he sighed quietly and slipped inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

The bed looked unfairly comfortable, and he practically jumped onto it out of sheer relief. He melted into the soft mattress, relishing in the fact that he could get a temporary break from the shitty cot. His head turned to the side, which was when he noticed a familiar corner of grey fabric sticking out from under one of the pillows. 

Smiling slightly, he pulled the cloak that he had gifted to Eren from where it had been shoved for the past couple weeks. Part of him vaguely wondered why it had been there in the first place, but the rest of his brain was throwing a fucking miniature party inside his skull, so he didn’t really think about it too much as he pulled it over his shoulders, humming contentedly when he felt the familiar weight settle around him.

Something was slightly off about it though, and it took him a moment to realize that it was because the entire thing smelled like sunshine and pine trees. The scent made him slightly dizzy, not in a nausea or headache sort of way. No, it was more like an ‘ _oh my fucking Walls, holy shit, MY cloak smells like Eren and its fucking heavenly_ ’ type of way. It was incredibly intoxicating, and the whirlwind of emotion left him feeling slightly loopy, which only added to his exhaustion.

As much as he would have been perfectly content to sit there all night whilst smiling idiotically, he decided that sleep was much more important. Of course, he kept on wearing the cloak even as he shimmied to get under the blankets, but it suddenly seemed like much less of a priority compared to the weightless feeling that was already beginning to claim him.

‘ _It’s not quite as good as the real thing,_ ’ he thought, eyes closing as he let his body relax, ‘ _but damn is it nice._ ’

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Levi was having the dream again. The too vivid, self-aware dream that he had tried not to think about since Eren had been arrested.

This one was different though. It felt…off. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but where the last one had felt serene and ethereal, this one was much less so. If he had to guess, he’d say that there was a sense of uneasiness to it, like there was a slight urgency to every ticking second. 

He was still floating in weirdly glowy water, and there were still the annoying strings clinging to a body that wasn’t his, but the skin that he was inhabiting had changed. The silky coat of fur had switched colors, now a dark, pitch black instead of blindingly pure white. Additionally, the point where it met pale skin was now further down on his forearm, about 5 or so centimeters below the crease of his elbows.

Since it was his second time in…wherever this was, he wasn’t as weirded out by the foresty dreamscape. Instead, he was determined to remember as many details as possible so that he could relay them back to Hange. Hopefully they would be able to figure out what exactly was going on with him, and he could quit being stuck in this damn pool for what felt like hours.

Thankfully, the moon was much closer to his peak than in the last dream, and he wondered if it had anything to do with the time that he had fallen asleep at. He also noticed that the lullaby-music was softly playing around him, just as calm and relaxed as it had been before. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t understand a single word that was being sung, because as best as he could figure, it was in a different language, one that he didn’t recognize.

He attempted to commit the syllables to memory, and in doing so, he realized that parts of it were being repeated, probably the chorus of the song. It took him nearly seven cycles of the damn melody to get a grip on what was being said, or at least a vague idea of the words. The repeated bit was fairly easy to memorize, and he drilled it through his head with every repetition.

“Idir… something… is idir somethinggggg,” he groaned, voice coming out feminine and higher pitched, making him yelp in shock.

There was quiet laughter somewhere behind him, ghosting through the swaying trees like a gentle breeze.

“Who’s there?!” he spun around furiously, water splashing around him as he tried to spot the source of the voice.

There was, of course, no reply, nor any sign that anyone had been there. The only thing he could hear was the damn song, which he refocused on so that he could continue to figure it out.

“Okay, so the ‘idir thing is idir thing’ shit goes uhhh,” he paused, listening to the shift of humming to singing, “four times, and then the repeat part, ahs ahn something-gan, ahm-ran na-farr-ah-ga, and fuck, what’s after that?”

He continued to try and separate the other syllables, but he could only stand another 10 repetitions before he wanted to drown himself in the water around him.

“Walls, can’t you just sing it in something I know?! It would be a great fucking help if I knew what the fuck was happening in this stupid song.”

Surprisingly, the voice stopped when he asked. Then, it started up again, with the same melody, but with a different language.

“Oh, very funny. I’m shaking with la-”

He stopped midsentence, and the words started hitting him like bricks being dropped onto the top of his fucking head.

“Entre le sais, entre le suis,”

This…he _knew_ this language. It was the one whispered to him as he laid with his mother as a child, the one associated with his earliest memories. He had only ever learned bits and fragments of it, seeing as his only source of it had died before she could finish teaching it to him.

“Entre le bas, entre le haut,”

It hurt. It literally hurt to listen to. All it did was remind him of the pain of life before his time on the surface. The darkness, the echoes, the lingering feeling of death and sickness in the air, it all came rushing back, smashing into his brain like the world’s most emotionally hurtful bucket of cold water.

“Entre l’ouest, entre l’est,”

He wanted to hide from the voice, hide from the pain and trauma that it dredged up from the depths of his memory, but he stood there, completely frozen as the song continued.

“Entre l’endroit, entre l’temps,”

His thoughts continued to spiral, even as his brain started trying to translate the words. Entre- he knew that meant between, it had been a common word for his mother to use since it was a preposition. Temps, that one was time, time to hide, time to run, time for bed. It was a useful word. The only other ones that he didn’t know were “endroit” and “haut”, but he figured that “haut” probably meant “up” because “bas” meant “down”, since the rest of the verses were all contradictory things.

The voice continued the painfully beautiful song no matter what he did to stop it. He had dunked his head underwater, covered his ears, and had even yelled vaguely at the forest around him a few times. None of it worked. It was like the words were no longer coming from the air around him, instead emanating from the inside of his own head, even as he tried his damn hardest to get it out.

“Stop it. Stop this.” He ordered, but his voice was shaking and he knew it, “Make that stupid song stop. The other language was better anyways.”

“Oh, I can agree with you there,” someone said from behind him, looking entirely calm as he whirled to face them.

It…wasn’t a person. Or if it was, then they had a very good disguise.

The newcomer looked like they had skin made of wood, and if the branches sprouting from their head was anything to go by, it probably was. Their eyes were hollow pits with tiny pinpricks of light inside them, making the sockets glow with a brilliant blue light.

To be honest, they looked more like an approximation of a human, like someone had to sculpt one with their eyes closed. Their limbs were incredibly long and disproportionate to their head, and their torso was unnaturally stretched. It gave them a sort of ethereal look, especially when paired with the wisps of multicolored light floating around them.

“Who are you?” he asked, eyeing the tree-person warily, “ _What_ are you?”

They stared at him for a moment, unblinking. Well, technically you couldn’t blink when your eyes are like tiny stars and you have no eyelids to cover them, but it was still creepy nonetheless.

Without warning, there was a glow of green-blue light, nearly blinding the captain’s borrowed eyes. When it died down, he noticed a jagged crack in the space beneath the creature’s eyes, looking like a terrifying attempt at a mouth.

“Ah, forgive me, it’s been a while since I’ve spoken with humans. And I suppose I could ask you the same question, Coat-Holder.”

“The fuck?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, “What do you mean, ‘since I’ve spoken with humans’? And why are you calling me a coat holder?”

They tilted their head at him, something that would have looked like confusion on a normal person. Unfortunately, without any other types of body language, it just made Levi feel like he was being studied, which he probably was, but still.

“Well, I suppose it was foolish to expect your kind to remember me forever,” they sighed, voice oddly emotional in contrast to the unsettling body that went with it, “A shame, but unavoidable I suppose. You all have such short memories.”

“Maybe I’d remember you if I knew who the fuck you were,” he said flatly, already getting annoyed with how they avoided his questions. Ironically, he felt like he was talking to a tree.

“I have many titles. A Queen. A spirit. A fae. But you can call me…” they paused, then their not-mouth opened up in a terrifying approximation of what was clearly supposed to be a grin, “Lady Sidhe.”

“…Alright then. My name is-”

He was cut off by a bubble of water surrounding his head, preventing him from speaking. More concerningly, it stopped him from breathing, and he screamed out of instinct, but it came out as a flurry of bubbles.

“Human, do you truly know nothing?!” the bubble disappeared with a gesture of wooden fingers, leaving him to cough and sputter as the creature focused their pinprick eyes on him, “You are incredibly lucky that I’m in need of your help. Consider this an owed gesture of goodwill, for what you’ve done in the past.”

He continued hacking up water from his borrowed lungs for a few moments, before glaring at the stupid tree-thing.

“Are you fucking crazy?! You call nearly drowning me goodwill?”

“Listen, Scout, we don’t have much time,” they sighed impatiently, wooden jaw creaking slightly as it opened, “You already know what you have to do. Get him back into my domain and all will be well.”

The captain nearly fell over out of sheer shock. It was quickly replaced by confusion, then by anger when he realized what they meant.

“You mean Eren?!? Why do you want him in whatever the fuck your domain is, and why are you so rushed to get him back?”

“Information comes at a price, dear human,” their eye-lights dimmed, somewhat resembling a squint, “I’ll answer all of your questions, if you can tell me one thing.”

He looked at the creature, hesitating for a moment. If his current theory was correct, then this…thing had somehow caused the breach in Sina that had instigated this whole mess. This could mean any number of things, and none of them were particularly good for humanity.

“Yeah, I’ll do it,” he decided, before holding up a webbed finger, “But, if you ask about something that could help you endanger the lives of anyone I care about, I won’t answer.”

They nodded in agreement, and Levi swore he could feel a slight pressure in the air as they accepted his terms.

“Very well. My question answered truthfully in exchange for information, and I won’t ask about anything that could enable me to cause any harm. Do you agree to the deal?”

It was his turn to nod. The tension increased briefly before dissipating as the tree-person relaxed slightly, pinpoint eyes focusing intently on him once again.

“You returned the coat once before. He left his freedom in your hands, knowing that you could have easily kept him at your side for eternity. Would you do it again?”

That was…nowhere near what Levi had been expecting. The words caught him completely off guard, sending him on a dizzying double take as he attempted to process what had just been said. The coat, that had to be Eren’s coat, right? He hadn’t seen many other significant jackets, and Eren had given him the fuzzy article of clothing after the fight with his sister. But that part about that he “chose” to give it back made no sense. Eren had been looking for it after he was injured, and Levi had done the polite thing, which was to get it for him and hand it over.

Clearly, he was missing something here, but he couldn’t quite wrap his head around what. Best he could figure, there was some weird context here, like there was some sort of double-meaning that he hadn’t bothered to notice.

The Lady Sidhe person watched him, and then sighed in exasperation.

“You don’t know, do you?” they asked softly, nodding quietly when Levi shook his head in confusion, “Alright, will you allow me to revise the question?”

“Yeah, sounds fine with me.”

They paused for a moment, thinking it over before they seemed to settle on a new query.

“Do you love him enough that you would let him go?”

He nearly choked again, this time on plain old air. The water around him rippled as he flinched back out of instinct, desperately trying to maintain his balance so that he wouldn’t fall into the glowy pool beneath him.

“I- You-” he sputtered, feeling blood rush to a face that wasn’t his, “What do you mean _love_ him?! He’s-”

The rest of his sentence was interrupted by his own thoughts, which had started to go absolutely crazy as he processed the question. It left him with a sinking feeling in his borrowed chest, and apparently the ache in his ribs could be shared across bodies.

Did he?

The answer was escaping him.

“I care about him,” he said slowly, voice shaking slightly as he continued, “I care about him a lot. More- more than anyone else, I think. And I want to keep him safe. I want to keep him with me.” He paused for a moment, attempting to keep himself from doing or saying anything stupid. “But, if it came down to that, if he asked me to leave, I would let him. He…he deserves to be happy, more than me.”

Lady Sidhe nodded slowly, luminescent sockets seeming to burn brighter the longer they stared at him.

“An interesting answer,” they made an odd gesture, and suddenly there were branches sprouting from the ground, weaving themselves into a table and two chairs, “Now, what did you want to know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh gosh you have no idea how long I spent yesterday planning designs for the new character, theres at least 3 pages of doodles and details. Things are probably gonna get more and more AU-ish from here on out, so that's fun! 
> 
> Fun fact: the song that i was using was Song of the Sea/Amhran na farraige, and i translated the Gaelic into English (as well as GT could, at least) then used my somewhat-okay french skills to translate it again. The mythology stuff was mostly inspired by the movie Song of The Sea, as well as Wolfwalkers, the Iron Druid Chronicles, The Dresden Files, and just odd little bits of whatever other type of shapeshifting/nature-centric stories I wanted. I might go into more detail about it later on, who knows.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you liked it, even if it was a bit rough and fucked up in places. Thanks for reading and putting up with my rants :P. ~MatchstiQs


	13. Chapter 13 (well, guess it was cursed from the start rip)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi has a rather interesting talk with Lady Sidhe, then wakes up to find that he's been out for 5 days. (The fae don't particularly have a good sense of time.) Of course, he's immediately slammed with questions from a certain nosy scientist, which leads to a lot of embarrassment, as well as some new discoveries.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -mentions of war and violence
> 
> -fae shenanigans, or basically just Sidhe being creepy lol
> 
> -copious amounts of cussing and secondhand embarrassment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh what's this? Me updating at a reasonable time? Somehow I did it folks, I managed to juggle finals, writing, and stress from whatever shit happened at the Capitol all at the same time!! Hell, I even painted at some point! What kinda fucked up timeline do we live in where I can watch people attempt a coup d'etat (look at me bein all fancy) while drawing a little fire spirit having a tea party?!
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is, like, purely dialogue, which I feel really bad about for some reason. This one could have been a lot nicer, but I'm planning for the next one to have Big Things, so I hope that makes up for it?
> 
> Oh!! This is the first chapter where I get to put in a pronunciation guide!! Woohoo for that! (btw if you're unsure about pronouncing anything not listed here, tell me in the comments and I'll do my best lol)
> 
> Pronunciation guide:  
> \- claochládan- sounds sort of like “Clay-chlo-dahn” but its rushed together so “claiecladan”
> 
> \- Sidhe- pronounced like the word “she”, but **spicy**

“So, let me get this straight,” Levi groaned, now-dry fingers massaging his temples as he tried to wrap his head around the shit ton of information that had just been dumped on him, “You, what, control the Earth? Like some sort of god or something?”

He was incredibly glad that Lady Sidhe seemed incapable of being annoyed, because if their positions were switched, he’d have killed them by now.

“I suppose you could call it that,” they waved their hand idly, shimmering mist swirling around their 5 wooden fingers, “Simply put, I am one with nature, just as a deer or flower is. I am bits of their, what do you call them? Souls? Atoms? Truly, there’s no proper way that I could explain it to your, pardon the term, _limited_ brain.”

Levi did not, in fact, pardon the term, but he kept his cool as the being continued.

“I once explained it to a human before you, but it was quite a while ago, by your standards, at least. She decided that it was something along the lines of interconnected matter, which isn’t far off, but still a rather primitive way to view things. A part of every wild being, conscious or not, is bound to me. It makes up who I am.”

“Ah, okay,” he nodded, even though he knew fully well that he didn’t understand in the slightest, “and this relates to Birdbrain because he’s somehow like you? A…nature thingy?”

The wooden creature sighed quietly, leaning back in their woven branch chair.

“It’s not quite the same. Not all of it is my story to tell, but in essence, he’s managed to gain the ability to have a bond similar to mine. However, it appears to only work with a specific set of animals, which makes the connection much stronger than having multiple ties.”

“So he can become a bird, a deer, and a titan because he somehow shares part of their souls?” the captain asked, still slightly skeptical of everything that he had been told.

Lady Sidhe sat up straighter, mini-flame eyes brightening and looking directly into his.

“He can still become a titan, you say?” they tilted their head, voice becoming slightly discordant, “An interesting effect indeed…”

“Yeah… Anyways, you never answered why you want him back so badly that you opened a hole in Sina. You killed a lot of innocent people, I hope you know that.”

They hummed in acknowledgement, and he vaguely wondered how they managed to do that without vocal cords. He decided not to think about it too much, since he was dealing with enough weird shit already. 

“I assure you, that was never my intention. The titans act of their own accord, I have no bond with them. They are not wild, nor are they borne of nature, and I therefore cannot do anything to control them.” They sounded sincere, but it didn’t change the fact that they had indirectly caused the deaths of 14 Scouts and 23 civilians. “The hole was only meant to be an escape for you and the claochladán. I know that humans can be rather…restricting… when it comes to people venturing outside of your Walls, so I attempted to give you an easier way out.”

“Mmm sure, thanks for that, I guess. Nice avoidance technique by the way, almost had me for a second.” He leaned back in his chair, keeping his gaze pinned on the blank wood between their pitted eye sockets. “So you don’t get distracted, I’ll ask a little more clearly this time. Why do you want Eren?”

The pinprick lights that vaguely represented eyes dimmed, brilliant azure becoming a little duller in both shade and intensity. If he could read the emotion a little better, he’d say that it was a mix of reluctance and disappointment. Then again, it could be the spirit’s attempt at an annoyed glare or a confused squint, so he wasn’t really sure.

“The same reason you want to keep him to yourself. I want to protect him. He’s going through the worst part of a growing period, and he requires the forest’s spirit to get through it. He needs me, and I certainly can’t come within your warded Walls.”

“Fair. But what are you keeping from me?” he asked, eyes and voice becoming flat as he spoke, “Healing him is helping, not protecting, so what are you trying to shield him from?”

A creepy grin spread over the spirit’s carved and jagged mouth, pale blue light emanating from inside of the opening in the wood.

“You’re good at this, human,” they said, and the light around them intensified once more, “It’s been a long time since I’ve met a being as clever as you. Rather entertaining, really.”

There was a moment of silence as he looked at them expectantly, waiting for them to answer his question.

“I’ve seen firsthand how your species treats anything that they consider to be _different_.” Their eyes changed color slightly, becoming more like ice instead of the previous sky-blue. “The fear, the rejection, the torture, the testing, the abuse. I will not allow that to happen to one of my own. Not my first in centuries.”

A new brightness burned, not around them, but within their eyes, pinpoints becoming curling flames as an old fire was re-awakened in them.

“You humans stem from wild roots, ones that you have desiccated and burned. You have tried and failed to live with nature for as long as I can remember. But _all_ you do is _take_ and _take_ and _take_ , and when there is nothing left to give, you turn to me for more. More resources, more weapons, more means of bloodshed. Make no mistake, mortal, I have no love for the titans, but they were quite possibly the best thing to have ever happened to both humanity and the wilds combined.”

Levi wasn’t sure to react. His first instinct was to wither under the spirit’s burning gaze, to give in to the assaulting wave of terrifying anger as they recounted the mistakes of his ancestors, but he had never been one to submit in the past, and he certainly wasn’t going to start now.

Instead, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to look directly into the blindingly intense fires curling around the edges of their wooden sockets. There was no way that he would allow himself to be intimidated by a literal fucking _tree_ , even one that could talk and do freaky things with a wave of their hand.

“Listen, I couldn’t give two fucks about humanity’s sins or whatever bullshit you’re talking about,” he said flatly, making the being pause out of what appeared to be surprise and intrigue, “Hell, I don’t even know what happened before the Walls. All I care about is making sure that Eren is safe, happy, and alive, no matter what it takes, got that?”

The light settled down, and Lady Sidhe’s eyes returned to the usual pinpricks as they tried to get their outburst under control.

“Very well then, coat-holder. It would appear that you can be trusted, for now. I can only hope that it is not ill-placed.” 

They nodded warily, then glanced up at the sky, wooden body creaking slightly with the movement. Levi did the same, and noticed that the moon had passed its peak by a bit, which should have seemed perfectly normal, but for some reason, the spirit flinched.

“Ah, forgive me. It would appear that I lost track of time,” they sighed, turning their gaze back to the human sitting across from them, “It was quite the experience to have a proper conversation with you, but I’m afraid you’ll need to wake up now.”

A few floating wisps of light floated towards him as their master gestured with glowing fingers, guiding them to where they were needed.

“Wait a sec, I have one more question before I go.”

They paused, orbs halting in midair.

“Quickly then, nothing too complicated.”

“Where is this place?”

“Oh! Dear human, you yourself believe that none of this is real,” Lady Sidhe laughed, and the light danced towards him again, “It is, after all, ‘just a dream’, right?”

The world faded to darkness. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Levi woke up with a start, jolting himself into a sitting position far faster than he probably should have. His head smacked into someone’s hand, making them both yelp in surprise.

“Wha- who the fuck?!” he groaned, attempting to bring his eyes into focus, “Four-Eyes? That you? Why are you here?”

The person, who he could now recognize as Hange, clapped excitedly, which made his still-adjusting eardrums ring. He glared at their slightly fuzzy-looking face, hoping that he was aiming his annoyed gaze at least somewhat near their eyes.

“Ah, Levi! It’s great that you’re awake! We were starting to get a little worried!”

He continued to stare at the scientist, this time out of confusion rather than frustration. They returned his look, eyebrow raised as they gestured vaguely at the air around them with their gloved hands.

“Wow, your head is in the freaking clouds today,” they giggled, waving a finger in front of his face before pulling it way over to his right. His gaze followed, head turning to the side.

Oh, wow. When had he been brought into the Infirmary?

“Why the fuck…” he trailed off, brain finally registering the pale red walls and sharp scent of disinfectants, “Wasn’t I in Birdbrain’s room? Where are the brats?”

Hange stared at him incredulously, grin fading slightly.

“You…you really don’t know?” they moved closer to him, removing a glove to feel his forehead even as he attempted to swat it away.

“The fuck’re you talking ‘bout?”

They slipped their glove back on, head shaking as they sighed. Clearly, they weren’t happy with his skin temperature, because they made their way over to one of the medical cabinets, returning a moment later with some sort of liquid medicine. His nose wrinkled at the thought of downing the presumably horrid concoction, but he did anyways, since the scientist probably would have forced him to do it whether he liked it or not.

“Levi, you’ve been asleep for nearly 5 days now.”

He nearly spat out the bitter syrup, and it wasn’t just because of the flavor. His eyes widened, gaping slightly at the person beside him.

“5 days?!” he sputtered, trying and failing to get the horrible taste out of his mouth, “Lost track of time my ass, that’s way too fucking long for something that short.”

Shitty Glasses gave him a concerned look, eyebrows scrunching together as they quietly clicked their tongue.

“You didn’t fall or anything right? Any headache at all? Vision problems? Possible concussion?”

“What? I’m perfectly sane Four-Eyes, which is more than I can say for you.” He rolled his eyes and stood up, only to have his legs try to buckle under his weight, “Fuck- just fucking- get Eyebrows in here or something, I have shit you both need to hear.”

The scientist made no move towards the door, instead continuing to stare at him, head tilted curiously.

“Why don’t you just tell me first? Then you can talk to Erwin later, huh?” they asked, pulling one of the waiting chairs closer to his bed before proceeding to sit down in it, “Besides, we got a real freaky snowstorm, during the Equinox too, if you can believe it. It’s practically a whiteout, which is why the windows are shuttered up. Can't really go out while it's like this.”

He narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously.

“I’m guessing that the blizzard started right after I fell asleep?” He took their widened eyes as a confirmation and sighed in frustration. “Walls, you must think I’m fucking crazy…”

“I’ve considered it, yes, partly based on your rather uncharacteristic behavior that happened just now, but also because you were…talking. In your sleep, I mean. A few times, actually, said some pretty weird things.”

“Oh joy,” he groaned, shaky hands pressing into his eye sockets, “What exactly did you hear?”

An unsettling grin spread over their face as they leaned dangerously close to his bedside.

“Just your little loveeee confessionnnnnn.” they giggled, dodging the punch that the captain had intended for their stupid glasses, “Well, that and some rather interesting things about the newly sealed breach in Sina, but honestly I’d rather hear about the rest of your feelings! We never did get to finish that talk, and now’s a good a time as any!!”

“First the fucking tree and now you?! Why does everyone assume I’m fucking _swooning_ over stupid fucking Birdbrain?”

The scientist cackled at his traitorously red face, not even bothering to block the harsh poke to their forehead.

“Fuck you and fuck your shitty glasses,” he muttered, glaring at Hange, who was attempting to get their laughter under control, “I don’t know where you all got this bullshit idea anyways…”

“Oh, my dear, sweet, _oblivious_ captain, do I have news for you!! Have you even seen the way you look at him?! The way you talk about him? Walls, it’s literally painful to watch, and he’s not even here right now!” They wiped at the tears under their glasses, before turning their eyes to him and fixing him with a nearly pitying stare.

He continued to glower at them, especially after they started pouting at him like he was a wounded kitten who had just murdered one of their rats. Slightly pissed for sure, but also disgustingly sympathetic and understanding. They would have fucked with anything that he could have said, and he certainly didn’t feel like having them psychoanalyze him or whatever bullshit, so he stayed quiet as they continued.

“Okay, okay, I am dying to ask you about the ‘tree-person’ you mentioned, but first, we! Need! To have! The feelings talk!” the scientist ignored his protests, speaking over him as if he wasn’t there at all, “So, tell me everything you like about our dazzling, green-eyed shapeshifter!”

To say that Levi wanted to die at that moment would be an understatement. He wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole so that he wouldn’t have to spend another fucking second listening to Four-Eyes’s annoyingly invasive questions. 

Unfortunately, the floor did not grant his wish, and he couldn’t exactly run away in the state that he was in, so he’d have to either answer or suffer through hours of torment.

“He’s an idiot,” he said, completely deadpan, “Why the fuck do you think I call him ‘Birdbrain’? I can assure you, it’s not just because of the feathers.”

Hange rolled their eyes and made a ‘go on’ gesture with their gloved hands.

“I mean, what do you want me to fuckin’ tell you? He’s saved my life way too many times, but I did the same once or twice. Not really anything happening between us other than that.”

“Okay, then tell me a story about him! What’s something that happened outside the Walls while you were out there?”

He paused for a moment, trying to keep the fond smile off of his face as he remembered the month that they had spent in the forest. Not that Shitty Glasses would ever need to know just what he thought of the memories, but it might be sort of nice to get some of it off his chest. Carefully, of course. He didn’t want to give them any more stupid ideas than they already had.

“Well, he brought me to a waterfall once. Getting there wasn’t particularly fun, considering it was nearly an hour of him dragging me around as both a bird and a deer, but it was a pretty fucking gorgeous sight. The thing was fucking massive, and there was so much damn water coming off the side of the cliff, you wouldn’t fucking believe it. There were, like, 10 rainbows from the mist and shit.”

His brain was replaying the scene as he spoke, and for some reason he found himself wanting to share every little detail about the damn thing. It was an absolutely _terrible_ idea, not to mention stupid and idiotic. Unfortunately, his mouth was now moving independently of his conscious brain, continuing even when he had tried to shut himself up. Part of him wondered if that was how Hange felt when they were ranting about their science stuff.

“Anyways, we get there, and the water is absolutely freezing for some reason. Does this stop the fucking idiot from diving in?! No, not at all! He just fucking goes up to the top of the cliff and just…jumps off! I thought he was gonna fucking die, but he’s too damn stubborn for that. He almost caught a cold though, so jokes on him or something.” He had crossed his arms sometime while he was speaking, and there was a slight grin on his face that he couldn’t seem to get rid of.

“And this other time, we’re sitting in our nest-thing, right? Well out of the blue he just starts braiding my fucking hair for some reason! He had this shit,” Levi gestured to his bangs, “done in like, an hour. I have no fucking clue where the brat learned how to braid, but he’s damn good at it. It’s like- I- damn it, he’s fucking _cute_ , Four-Eyes! I can’t deal with his stupid face!”

He regretted the words the second the came out of his mouth, and immediately buried his face in his pillow so that he didn’t have to see the scientist’s reaction. It also had the added benefit of hiding his flaming cheeks, as well as rendering him unable to speak, since _apparently_ he couldn’t go 5 minutes without fucking shit up.

Hange giggled from beside him, ruffling his hair even as he flailed in an effort to smack their hand away.

“So you admit it! You do like him!” it sounded like they were crying and laughing at the same time. Levi pulled his head out of the pillow for long enough to watch them wipe an imaginary tear out from under their eye, before promptly groaning and slumping forwards again to continue ignoring them as much as humanly possible.

“I’m not a fucking heart-eyed teenage girl, I don’t _like_ him,” he muttered, pillow muffling his voice, “He’s just…I don’t know. Pretty? Nice? Warm? Fuck this.”

“He’s whaaaaattttt Levi? Come on, I know you want to tell me, let it out already!”

The captain rolled over, taking the pillow with him. It was incredibly childish, yes, but it was better than actually having to meet Hange’s eyes as he panicked internally.

“Fuck you,” he said, lifting his improvised shield just enough so that they could properly hear him, “I already told you enough as it is, and I’m regretting it. You can fucking deal.”

“That’s not fun though! I finally just got you to admit your crush-”

“Not a fucking crush, Four-Eyes.”

“-your _appreciation_ for our lovely bird-boy! You and I both know that you wouldn’t break into a prison for someone just because they’re ‘cute’, so clearly there’s more happening here!”

He didn’t say anything, mostly because he knew that he’d start word vomiting the second he started talking about Eren again, which was most definitely the last thing he needed to happen. The worst part was that a scarily large piece of him wanted to do it, something that he’d never admit, out loud at least, especially not when Shitty Glasses was in the room.

“Fine, whatever, if you’re really that stubborn about it,” they sighed, evidently not fully convinced, “Anyways! You said that you would tell me about the tree-person! What’s that about?”

His face turned even more red as he remembered Lady Sidhe’s question about Eren. He muttered something about nosy trees and even nosier scientists, before rolling his eyes and putting the pillow back to its proper place. Hange started giggling at the sight of his still slightly pink cheeks, ignoring the withering glare that he sent their way.

“I’ll tell you, but only if you promise to believe me when I say I’m not fucking crazy. I’m not creative enough to come up with this shit. And no more fucking asking about Birdbrain, got that?”

The scientist laughed and nodded, then settled into an expression that looked somewhat similar to a child listening to a bedtime story. Well, if the child had a touch of insanity and a tendency towards chaos, but still.

He launched into an explanation of the two possibly-not-dreams, trying to include as much as possible without saying anything dumb. Of course, he left out the fact that he had freaked out over a damn song, as well as Lady Sidhe’s non-revised question about "love". There was no way that he was going to feed _that_ particular fire, especially after his fuck up from earlier.

As he continued his description, Hange started looking more and more like someone had just given them the best present of their entire life. To be fair, he technically had, since they treated new information like it was tangible or something. He actually had to pause a few times to make sure that they wouldn’t explode, or potentially dislocate their jaw from the giant fucking grin that they had.

Apparently, Shitty Glasses could shut up when they wanted to, which was a mildly shocking revelation. In total, they had only interrupted twice, which had to be some sort of record for them. They were a pretty good listener, even after he finished his small lecture, but he had a suspicion that the few moments of silence that followed his last sentence were more due to their need to process than anything else. 

“So!” they said suddenly, eyes sparkling with excitement, “There’s an intelligent species other than humans?! Do you have any idea how big this is, Levi?? And the things you described them doing… holy shit! I mean, just, damn!!!”

“I guess? It’s pretty different when you’re nearly fucking drowned by a living tree.” He sat up, rubbing at his throat, which was now hurting slightly from the extensive use. “Lady Sidhe is honestly more annoying than anything. Like you, but more powerful and pretentious. And a lot older.”

The scientist evidently noticed the slight rasp in his voice, because they got up to make him a cup of tea as he finished his counterpoint.

“But isn’t it absolutely fascinating that they could just call the water like that?! And imagine all the things that they know, things from before the Walls. They probably know things from before humanity altogether!! How awesome is that?!” They turned back to him as they put the tea leaf-filled strainer into the cup, waiting for it to steep while they continued, “Pleaseeeeee tell me they gave you an idea of where to find them? I’d die happy if I met someone like that!”

“Exactly what part of my interaction with them gave you the idea that they’re _not_ a cryptic and mysterious bundle of twigs? Trust me, I asked, and they gave me some ambiguous shit about how it was all a dream.”

Hange groaned, shoulders slumping in disappointment.

“But I _think_ , and I might be completely wrong here, that Birdbrain’s books might help us a little bit. I read a little bit into one of them, the fish-woman one, but I forgot to finish it, so it’s still sitting in his room somewhere.”

“Books?!?!! Eren has _books_ from before the Walls and you _never_ thought to mention it to me?!!” they gasped, one hand on their hip as they passed him his tea.

“Oh I thought about it, but I was a little too busy with, y’know, the multiple fucking crises that happened over a week,” he sipped at his steaming drink, relishing in the relief it brought to his throat, “And I was pretty fucking pissed at you after the first stupid ‘feelings talk’, so there’s that too.”

They put a hand over their chest in mock surprise, pouting at him as he rolled his eyes.

“Levi!! I was _trying_ to be a nice friend!” The scientist grinned slightly at his pointed glare. “Okay, I mightttt have pried a little bit, but I only had good intentions! You would have destroyed yourself cleaning like that, with you being a Mr. Grumpypants about Eren leaving.”

“I told you not to bring that up, Four-Eyes.”

“That was only for while you were talking about the dream though! Now that you’re done, I want to hear all about the lovely shapeshifter!!”

He flipped them off as he downed the rest of his tea, then promptly swung his legs over the bed once more, ignoring their protests about how he shouldn’t be standing yet.

“Listen, if you’re not going to go get his books or find Eyebrows, then I am. I’d rather finish that fish-lady story than say shit about Miracle Boy, ‘kay?” he sighed, testing his feet with a firm press before managing to stand on them, albeit rather shakily.

“Miracle Boy? Where did that one come from?!” they laughed, helping him to his feet, “Levi, you can walk around, but don’t even think about going outside. It’s practically a blizzard out there!”

“None of your fucking business, that’s where.” He started to make his way to the door, leaning on various bits of furniture. “And I thought you liked experiments?”

They looked at him, eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. He rolled his eyes and continued down the Infirmary hallway, heading for the door that would lead to where it was presumably snowing.

“Humor me. I want to try something, and if it works, you’ll lose your shit.” 

Hange still looked like they wanted to stop him, but nodded in acceptance as he rattled the handle to open the slightly stuck door. Thankfully, it opened inwards, so it wasn’t blocked by the nearly 13-centimeter tall coating of snow on the ground. He stepped out on to it, boot crunching nearly all the way through.

By all standards, he should have been freezing. Other than a basic shirt, trousers, and boots, the only cold-weather item that he was wearing was Eren’s and his shared cloak. However quite the opposite was true. Instead, he felt rather warm and slightly floaty, which was how late March _should_ have felt.

“What the… Levi, look above your head! There’s- holy shit, what is that?!”

He did as the scientist said, turning his eyes upwards so that he could see whatever they were gaping at.

There was a wispy spiral of flame hovering a few centimeters above his hair, giving off golden waves of light. Apparently, it was the source of the heat too, because Hange yelped when they tried to touch it.

“Look! The snow is parting around us like we’re not even here!” they giggled, eyes going wide as they looked around at the storm around them.

It felt a bit like they were in the middle of a bubble, shielded by the thing atop Levi’s head. The mini-flame followed where he moved, and as long as Hange didn’t fall too far behind, it protected them from the flurry too.

“Huh. Neat.”

They poked him in the arm, rolling their eyes at his nonchalant reaction.

“What?! It’s not like I haven’t seen weirder shit recently,” he huffed, speeding up in a half-hearted attempt to leave the scientist on their own, “Besides, we need to hurry before anyone sees us.”

That seemed to satisfy them for the time being, and they walked in (relative) silence to the stables. (Hange kept trying to touch the light, only to yelp when they continued getting burnt) It wasn’t as far as it would have been from his old room, so they got there rather quickly. Once there, they grabbed a pair of horses, both of whom absolutely loved Levi’s portable snow shield/torch/space heater, and started to ride in the general direction of the 104th’s barracks.

It took fucking _forever_ to find the damn building, even with the golden light provided by the glowy-thing. One would _think_ that they had gone down the path enough times to know where to turn, but as it turns out, everything looks completely different when it’s covered in snow.

Levi was bordering on giving up when it did finally come into view, window lights shining like eerie beacons in the distance. He motioned to Hange so that they could see it too, before taking off towards them at nearly a full gallop. The scientist shouted in surprise before speeding forwards to match him again, clearly not wanting to leave the protective bubble of warmth and light.

He dismounted from his horse once they were within a few meters of their destination, then sent it back to where it had come from with a two-toned whistle and a gentle shove. There was no reason to keep an animal tied to a fencepost in these conditions, and if they seriously had issues, they could probably call for another one. Hange did the same before glancing at him and gesturing towards the door.

“Alright, alright,” he huffed, crossing his arms as he walked up to the entryway, knocking on the solid wood as loudly as possible, hoping to attract someone's attention.

“You ready to get reading, Four-Eyes?”

They grinned, eyes sparkling at the idea.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh I feel like it sucks but my friend said it was good and to stop being a chicken and post it, so here you go! I hope you liked it!!
> 
> On a side note, please stay safe and hopefully stress free. I know that shit is bad here in the US, and from what I've seen on the news, Britain isn't doing much better, or anywhere really. Covid sucks ass and all this political mess can seriously fuck with your mental health, so try and take a bit to breathe when you can. It sounds stupid coming from an internet stranger, but I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to!
> 
> You've got this! Have a great day!! ~MatchstiQs


	14. Chapter 14 (alternately titled Feelings with a capital F)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So it's 12:52, I'm braindead, so have parts of my outline in lieu of an actual summary. Sorta spoilers so be careful.
> 
> Have 104th be doing some hilarious shit when they walk in, they all make sure he’s okay (because they worry and it confuses him why people care), Hange drags him away to read shit. Cue timeskip 1? Or do timeskip 1 instead of describing Four-Eyes dragging him, to avoid too much actual dialogue between him and 104th. Use introspection bitch for the LOVE OF GOD!!! Make this bastard question his whole ass life! Fuck him over emotionally, then fuck with him more! With books this time!
> 
> End on Erwin coming in, saying [REDACTED], Eyebrows style, so it’s like really blunt but also eloquent. Like a rapier. No, Levi’s the rapier. Or is he a dagger?? Spanish poniard? Erwin’s like a really fancy but completely functional broadsword. Hange’s just fucking Jack from Magnus Chase. Loud, annoying, a decent friend, weird stories, 0 moral compass, but also super effective and deadly. Fuck I’m making weapon analogies now, tf? Whatever, Eren is definitely a fucking gun. Just. Wildcard bitch. There’s a laser pointer to give the impression of a dignified sniper rifle but then this bitch pulls out the full auto spray."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks at kudos, hits, and bookmarks; immediately starts giggling like a maniac*
> 
> Ive said it before but: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT!! Idek how it managed to get over 3k hits, I'm genuinely happy and excited rn!!
> 
> Ran out of characters in the summary so-
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -Mentions of pranks and dangerous games
> 
> -*Bill Wurtz voice* ~~Emotional~~ cLuELeSsNeSs
> 
> -Pain. So much mental and emotional pain because I have to torture Levi for some reason.
> 
> -Sort of anxiety attack but more of a shutdown than anything else
> 
> -Daily doses of the word "fuck" and all its variants.

If Levi had a coin for every time he had walked into a fucked-up game of shadow-puppet plays, he’d have exactly two coins. Which, you know, isn’t a lot, but it’s pretty fucking weird that it happened twice, especially with both instances being only a few months apart from each other.

Honestly, he probably should have gotten used to some of the weird shit that the 104th did in their free time. They had done loads of questionable things in the past, including, but not limited to, _multiple_ pranks that ranged from extremely confusing to downright humiliating. (It had only gotten dangerous on one occasion, and that was only because Buzzcut had gotten the wrong type of frog.) They also seemed to enjoy doing stupidly perilous stunts, like blindfolded darts, fencing free for all’s, and the dumbest one, a “game” that they had named “Slipping”, which, as the name indicated, involved sliding around in their socks on freshly waxed floors. Levi had refused to participate in any of these, claiming that _somebody_ needed to be there to take one or multiple of their dumb asses to the Infirmary when one of them inevitably got injured. (They somehow managed not to get seriously wounded during any of these insane shenanigans, much to Levi’s surprise and mild bewilderment.)

Alas, there was really no way for him to get used to any of the perpetually changing and undoubtedly dangerous activities, so he nearly screeched when he opened the main room’s door, revealing what, at first glance, looked like a blazing fire.

Upon further inspection, he realized that the room was not, in fact, burning to the ground, which was certainly a relief. It was, however, blindingly bright, and there were certainly flames, but they were all contained within the 30 or so lamps that lined the floor in front of them. The brats had apparently gathered all the light sources within the barracks and put them into the main room, which created a nearly perfect back-light to cast shadowy silhouettes onto the sheet hanging from the ceiling, separating the front and back of the room into stage and audience.

Hange giggled quietly from beside him, clearly not wanting to interrupt the rather… _interesting_ … fake scene between two of the taller brats. He couldn’t make out which ones, since his retinas were being continually assaulted by the blinding firelight, but they certainly weren’t Blondie, Bookworm, Murder-Scarf, Ponytail, or Buzzcut, which only left a handful of options.

“Please, Sir Knight, go on without me!” one of the two gasped, voice unnaturally high-pitched as they attempted to put on…whatever character they were doing, “I’m too injured to be saved!”

“That’s nonsense, Your Highness,” the other one was speaking normally, albeit with a little bit dramatic flair, so he could identify him as Reindeer. (Buzzcut and Ponytail had once tied sticks to his head while he was sleeping, and the nickname had stuck ever since then.)

“Think of the people! My people! You need to be there to save them, and I will only slow you down. I beg of you, leave me here to die a peaceful death!”

Somebody sobbed from beyond the sheet, clearly becoming emotional about the performance, only to be shushed by someone else. They were all evidently _way_ too into this, but Levi could somewhat see the appeal, not that he’d ever admit it out loud. To be fair, these two weren’t half bad at acting, and he found himself a little intrigued about what had been happening in the play before he and Hange had walked in on it.

“I could never leave you,” Reindeer continued, kneeling beside whoever was laying on the floor, (Levi had a decent idea of who it was, but he couldn’t see well enough to confirm his guess) “I swore an oath to protect you until my dying breath. Call me selfish, call me cruel, but I will never abandon you, my liege, not for all the sense and reason in the world.”

Ah, well, so much for the mystery of who was playing the part of royalty. The sincerity in Reindeer’s voice was wayyyy too heavy for him to be just acting, which meant that the other person was none other than the extraordinarily tall brat that Levi had dubbed as “(Blue) Sweater”. Well, he also called him “Beanpole” a couple times, because he was annoyed (i.e mildly jealous) about his height.

The captain had only known these brats for around 3 weeks, but some of them were just _painfully_ obvious about who they fancied. He had actually assumed that they were dating at first, which led to a rather awkward moment of stammering and blushing when he had jokingly told Sweater that his boyfriend had gone off to run errands somewhere. The only ones who rivaled their level of romantic tension were Blondie and Miss Emo, who at this rate was going to turn into Mrs. Emo, if the way she looked at her “ _totally-not-girlfriend-she’s-just-my-bestfriend-why-would-you-think-that_ ” was any indication.

Ignoring the emotional stupidity of the young adults, (he swore to punch himself if he ever turned into something that embarrassing) he tugged on Four-Eyes’s sleeve to catch their attention. He intended to sneak up to Eren’s room without disturbing the play, get the books, then leave with Hange so that they could nerd-out in peace over some illegal information.

Unfortunately, his perfectly sound plan was ruined when the scientist yelped rather loudly at the sudden jerk on their arm, and the two part-time actors jumped before spinning to look in their general direction.

“What’s happening?” someone on the other side of the room called, confused by the sudden pause, “I want to see how the knight saves the day!”

“Who’s there? Bert, I’m not imagining that, right? You heard it too?”

Levi sighed. He had temporarily forgotten that the other two were probably just as blinded as him and Shitty Glasses, and that they most definitely couldn’t make out who they were.

“Hello kiddos!!!” Hange called, waving as they gingerly stepped over the carefully arranged lamps on the floor, “Walls, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a shadow-play that good!”

“Section Commander? Is that you? How long have you been watching??”

They cackled at the two actors’ sudden embarrassment, hand shielding their glasses-covered eyes from the bright light as much as possible.

“Oh, we’ve only been here 10 minutes or so, but I could tell that this is a quality performance! Well done!!”

There were footsteps as a few people walked over and ducked through the sheet, all using various methods to keep themselves from being blinded. One of them noticed Levi leaning against the doorframe and started crying, much to his surprise and confusion. They fucking _lunged_ at him, still sobbing as they wrapped their arms around him, managing to escape his efforts to shove them off.

“The fuck are you doing Blondie?!” he screeched, attempting to pry her arms off of his shoulders.

“I’m so sorry!!!!” she sobbed while somehow simultaneously clinging to him like a fucking snake, “It’s all my fault! I-”

She broke down into more crying, which at least allowed him to remove her from his chest. He warily pushed her over to Ms. Emo, who was glaring at him as she soothed the smaller girl.

“Uh, sorry Captain,” Buzzcut said, rubbing his neck sheepishly, “We were kinda messing around and Christa fell… now she thinks she’s the reason that your cot got broken, and then your um…whatever happened. Are you okay? We really didn’t mean it, I swear!”

Levi raised an eyebrow. The younger Scout cringed, shrinking back slightly under his stare.

“I’m fine, I guess.” He gestured vaguely at himself. “Not dead, as you can see. No reason for Blondie to freak out.”

Hange poked the side of his head harshly, huffing at his indifference towards what had happened. Glaring at them, he wondered why the hell anyone had cared in the first place. It wasn’t like he had ever been particularly _nice_ to any of them, and there was certainly no way that he had ever done anything that would merit crying about inadvertently causing his potential death.

Ignoring his (slightly more than) mild confusion, he tried to yank the annoyed scientist out of the room so that they could do what they had come here for. Unfortunately, they got the wrong message, and instead of stealthily leaving to get the books, they clapped their hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Ah! So, we came here to get our hands on some totally-not-illegal reading material!” The others looked at them in concern as they continued, “We’ll be in and out as quick as possible, so you guys can get back to your shadow-play. Have fun!”

They turned to leave, but someone cleared their throat, so they paused. Curse their damn curiosity, it could be so annoying at times. Well, all the time, really, but still.

“Section Commander, I don’t think we’re gonna have the…confidence to finish it today, which is fine, I guess. But, uh, how exactly did you get here? It was really coming down out there last time I checked.”

Reindeer gently clubbed the back of his friend’s head, giving him a pointed glare. Levi half-heartedly rolled his eyes, then turned to go back into the hallway, hopefully without any interruptions this time. He heard Hange babble on about something, probably some flimsy excuse about the weather, before running out of the room to catch up with him. Just to spite them, he walked a little bit faster than necessary. It’s the little things, right?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Eren’s room was a fucking mess.

To be fair, it had probably happened when the brats realized he wasn’t going to wake up, and had presumably rushed him to the Infirmary. Still though, would it have killed those idiots to be a little more careful with his unconscious body? No wonder he had weird-ass bruises on his ribs and ankles, they had evidently treated him like a sack of fucking flour.

He sighed, attempting to ignore his distaste for the amount of things that had fallen or were now in otherwise disarray around the room as he walked over to the bookshelf. A few of the books were scattered, probably caused by the same thing as the scuff marks on the corner of the wooden shelf. Shaking his head, he picked them up and dusted them off, before passing them to Hange, who was practically bouncing at the sight.

There were about 15 total, give or take a few, which meant that someone had given him more of them at some point, probably Bookworm. Unfortunately, they were all big enough to be used as bricks in some sort of fucked up knowledge house, so it felt more like there were 50 of the damn things. Most of them were slightly yellowed with age, and they had that weird paper-ink-glue smell about them that Four-Eyes looked like they were getting drunk off of. 

They giggled as he passed them more, with the scientist reading the titles of each book as he added to the steadily growing tower in their arms. Some of them had really fucking weird names, like “Tales of a Seanachie”, “Giants, Fairies, Merfolk, and More; Myths and their Origins”, and probably the most odd, a series of three absolutely huge novels all titled with sequential variations of “The Lord of the Rings”.

“And the last one,” Hange declared, leaning around the stack of books in their arms, “Come on, show it to me so I can see the title!”

Levi was about to pass it to them, but he had the sense to look at the front cover himself first, revealing that it was the selkie book that he had partially gotten through, so he kept it in his hand instead.

“Shitty Glasses, you’re gonna drop them all if I add this one, so I’m going to carry it.” He tucked the book in question into his waistband. “Fuck, you might drop them as is. You do realize that my arms work perfectly fine, right?”

The scientist huffed and held the stack closer to their chest protectively, like Levi was going to steal their precious knowledge or something. He shrugged and rolled his eyes before walking out of the room at a speed that he knew they couldn’t match, not when they had to crane their neck to one side or the other just to see what was in front of them.

Unfortunately, the stairs proved to be a more difficult obstacle than either of them had anticipated. Hange managed to make it down about half of them before one of the boards bowed under their weight, and the books went flying out of their arms as they tumbled to the ground with a screech.

“Oh my Walls, are you okay?” Levi shouted, walking down to where they had landed. He gasped dramatically and reached out a hand in what _could_ be seen as an attempt to help the scientist to their feet, only to swerve at the last second to gingerly pick up a face-down book on the floor, “Oh, it looks like you have a creased page! And a tear! We’ll have to operate fast, but I think you’ll pull through…”

Hange squawked indignantly, reaching out to punch his leg. He dodged, of course, and purposefully ignored them as he issued diagnoses to each of the dropped books, sorry, _soldiers_ , attempting to comfort the inanimate objects. He reassured a couple of them that their families would be provided for, and even went so far as to give a tearful speech about his best friend and fallen comrade, Lieutenant Page Bookerson. 

A few of the younger Scouts came out of the main room to check on the commotion, then yelled at their friends still inside to get a first-aid kit and, at his request, some tape.

“Today, I lost my dear annoyance, Hange Zoe,” he began, glaring at the brat who tried to get to the now-sulking scientist, “They died because they were a stubborn asshole. I hope this serves as a lesson to you lot; don’t be a fucking idiot or you’ll fall down the stairs. Now, I have wounded soldiers to take care of, so please pass me those sticky bandages you have there.”

They all seemed torn between laughing their asses off or helping their superior officer, but thankfully there were enough of them present to do both. Well, except Armin, who was helping him mend the fucked-up pages as Levi continued the petty charade by saying things like “Sir Spineus Wordicus lost a lot of blood, please tend to him first.” Bookworm went along with it, nodding gravely as he smoothed the cover of Recruit Inky B. Ook.

When both the books were taken care of and arranged in piles, he finally went to check on Four-Eyes. He wasn’t completely heartless, and besides, it gave him the opportunity to gloat over their mistake, which was more than slightly satisfying.

“Fuck you Levi,” they crossed their arms and stuck their tongue out at him, somehow managing to look annoyed and amused at the same time, “And here I thought you cared!! I could have broken a leg or something!”

“ ‘S what you get, Shitty Glasses. Now stop being such a big baby and let’s get out of here, this time with both of us carrying shit, dumbass.”

The scientist huffed and stood up, with the help of Blondie and Murder-Scarf. It was, thankfully, pretty obvious that they didn’t need the help, but they tended be as dramatic as possible at nearly any given occasion. Levi vaguely wondered how in the fuck they managed to fall down half a flight of stairs without getting seriously injured. Maybe they were somehow leeching his luckiness. He wouldn’t be surprised if they figured out a way to do that, not with their weird contraptions and sheer determination to make things work.

Waving off his slight curiosity, he passed them their half of the books, then scooped up the others with a slight ‘oof’ as he adjusted to the sudden weight.

“Are you sure that you don’t want anyone to help with that?” Ponytail asked, putting her arms out as an offer for assistance, only to be shot down by Levi’s slight glare, “I mean, it’s pretty blustery out there still, and nobody would be able to help you if you slipped on the ice.”

“I think we’ll be fine, thank you Sasha!” Hange shifted so that the books were resting more against their right side, leaving one hand open for opening doors or something, “Besides, we won’t slip because we have-”

“ _Horses_ ,” Levi interrupted, cutting off whatever stupid thing that the scientist was about to say, “We have horses.”

“Yeah!! They work just fine in the snow, all good here!”

The other Scouts looked between them, expressions ranging between confused, suspicious, and disbelieving. It was a shitty cover up, yeah, but it was already out there, so the captain pushed through the small crowd before anyone could say anything else.

He headed for the door with the book-laden scientist close behind. Unfortunately, the brats thought that they were supposed to follow him too, which was the one thing he wanted to avoid.

Rushing slightly, he hurried to open the door, letting in a sudden blast of frigid wind. Everyone shivered at the sudden dip in temperature, and since he was the closest, he got a face full of ice. Hange yelped and reached to slam the door shut, practically knocking Levi out of the way in the process.

“The fuck Four-Eyes?”

“Don’t. Move.” they whispered, keeping their voice as quiet as possible as they turned back around to face the others, standing as tall as possible to block their view of the captain.

Normally, he would have ignored their warning so that he could elbow them for being an idiot, but he realized that he felt eerily warm again, which meant…oh. Well, shit, that was gonna be a fucking problem. There was really no easy way to explain a miniature fucking sun floating over his head, especially not to people who had no idea about his weird ass dream or anything of the sort. Hell, it still confused Levi, and he had seen a talking tree grow fucking chairs out of the ground.

“Okay!!” Hange yelled, fake confidence and enthusiasm dripping from their slightly-too-cheery voice, “Looks like we’re staying here then! Do you mind if we read in your main room?”

“Uh…sure?”

They grinned, then turned back to him, still being careful not to let anyone see neither his body nor his head-floaty-thing, which they were glaring pointedly at. He glared right back, mostly because he was unsure of what they wanted hm to do about it.

‘ _Make it go away_ ,’ they mouthed, not wanting to attract more attention than they already had, ‘ _Think warm and happy thoughts or something._ ’

He rolled his eyes as they spun back around. Thinking “warm and happy thoughts” probably wasn’t going to do shit, but it was worth a try, as long as he could do it quickly. Problem was, Levi didn’t exactly scream “Mr. Sunshine”. He certainly didn’t have an exceptional amount of cheery memories to think of. Well, except for how nice it was to be around Eren, but that definitely wouldn’t work, right? There was no way that thinking about how his hair felt when Levi would drag his fingers through it would actually do anything. Absolutely no reason that his head thingy would disappear just at the imagined sensation of warm arms wrapped around his waist, or the mental image of one of the shifter’s sunbeam smiles, or the idea of-

Oh, well fuck. Color him surprised. It actually fucking worked, and the glowiness and heat was gone once more. Well, externally, anyways, he couldn’t do jack shit to stop the annoying and bubbly sensation in his chest.

Hange must have sensed the shift, because they stepped forwards, trying to look as casual as possible as they made their way back down the hall. It was, of course failing miserably, but at least the attention was off of him for the time being, which took a bit of the pressure away. He only vaguely worried about whether or not the sun-thing (wow he really needed to come up with a name for it asap) was just going to pop up once he got cold again, and more importantly, where he could hide if it did happen.

Once they were back in the main room, this time sans blinding light and hanging sheet, he realized that this one part of the building was somehow way fucking warmer than everywhere else. Part of it was probably the combined body heat of everyone inside, plus the lamps had probably contributed to the warmth while they were burning earlier, but that place was like a fucking summertime field compared to the other rooms and hallways.

Sighing, he sat down at one of the tables and set his stack of books in front of him, before gesturing for the scientist to do the same. They did so, but they were distracted by something while they tried to put their pile down, so the books ended up getting strewn all over the table.

“Four-Eyes, can’t you go five fucking minutes without dropping shit?” he groaned, before looking up and realizing that they were flipping through pages, already lost in nerd-land.

Well, so much for a decent discussion of what they had learned. Once Hange got into a book, there was no stopping them until they finished, and he would know, because he had tried multiple times min the past. The best you could get from them was a glassy-eyed stare and a vague nod before they went back to rapidly consuming words.

Ignoring their sudden spacey-ness, he slipped the selkie book out of where it was tucked into his waistband. Thankfully, it was a bit smaller than the others, more like a plank instead of a brick, so he it felt a bit less dreadful to look at. Normally, he avoided reading whenever possible, mainly because he couldn’t see the appeal of staring at a tree carcass and hallucinating for hours on end, but also because he had the attention span of a butterfly when it came to things like pages upon pages of fucking words.

Still, he couldn’t deny that he was definitely curious about the information hidden between the embossed blue covers. He flipped to where he had left off a week prior, to the part where the narration changed from informational and explanatory into some weird combination of poetry and storytelling.

“ _There she sits,  
She steals my wits,  
A maiden grey and fair_

_And here I sit, my stolen wits,  
With all my aching bones  
that long for someone to have and to hold  
In a lighthouse by the Sea_

_She is free, but I am not  
For her happiness, she has fought  
The Selkie has been freed_

_Legend says to make her yours  
You need the coat that she adores  
Alas, it never comes without a Price_

_A warning to the men who try  
For she will leave you high and dry  
The second that she finds her lovely coat_

_Yes, if you bind her to your side  
With a hidden coat of pale moonlight  
It’s you that she will never love for truth_

_But if her coat is freely gave  
Its proof that she forsakes the waves  
She’d give it up to spend her life with you_

_Let this be a lesson then  
To all the lads across the land  
That a selkie’s love is something you must earn_

_So charm her up and keep her close_  
_Never try to steal her coat  
And one day she may Choose to stay with you…_

_…In your lighthouse by the Sea._ ”

Well…….huh……

It took Levi a solid 2 minutes to process everything going on in those words. Even the analysis on the next few pages made absolutely no sense to his recovering brain, so he figured that he could do it the normal way; by staring off into space as the poem replayed in his head in an attempt to leech some sort of rational thought from it.

The explanation from before had said something or other about how the selkies needed their coats in order to transform into their seal form. Apparently, if you took it away and hid it, or something like that, then the selkie would…what? Marry you? Hate you forever because they have to live in one form? Levi found that to be the most confusing part, honestly. He had never been one for looking into all that symbolism bullshit, so he was pretty clueless about how to approach that specific metaphor.

His train of thought inevitably led him to where it was supposed to be in the first place, which was the very person that he was reading this for. He couldn’t deny the huge number of similarities between this creature and Eren. They both seemed to depend on some sort of jacket in order to transform properly, as shown by the time that his shapeshifter had attempted to do it without said coat, and had nearly died as a result. Similarly, it obviously represented a form of physical freedom, though he couldn’t quite figure out what they were supposedly being freed from. Why else would Lady Sidhe have gone on about that “would you let him go” crap?

He was, of course desperately trying to ignore the emotional strings attached to any of these realizations. There was no way that he would be able to handle- 

Nope. He was not going to start thinking about that. No way in hell.

But what if it _was_ as simple as the poem had made it seem? Would Eren willingly give up his freedom to stay with _Levi_ , a snappy, standoffish asshole who, at best, could be only mildly cynical? Did he really _trust_ , let alone _care about_ a murderer that fucking much?

There was no way that Levi could ever be that lucky.

Right?

The debate continued in his head, frustration growing with every new possibility that his brain generated. Part of him wanted to slam his head against the table in an attempt to knock himself out, just to quiet his warring internal monologue.

A new thought occurred to him, posing a question so absolutely terrifying that it halted all other activity within his skull.

‘ _Would I do the same, if it were me? Give it all up just for another minute of being around him_?’

…

‘ _Yes._ ’

Oh. Oh _fuck_.

He needed out, out of the room, out of this situation, out of his own damn head. There was no way that he could stand to be in that building for another fucking second. Too many people, yet not nearly enough, not when the most important one was absent. _His_ person wasn’t there, and it was all too _wrong_ for him to handle.

So, he ran. He ran and he ran, as fast as his legs could carry him, pushing through doors and snow and screaming people until-

The sun. He could feel the sun, pushing against his skin and searing into his eyes. It was bright, too bright, horribly and burningly bright, but also warm, protective, and painfully grounding, tying him down to reality as his brain tried to claw itself up and away. 

Time stopped. The snow stopped. Everything came to a halt, leaving only him and the sun.

Except, of course, it wasn’t the sun. There was no sunshine in a blizzard. No, the source of the clarity was the little bright bauble floating in front of him, now brighter and warmer than any campfire or torch. It was a white-gold star of its own, outshining any celestial body that he had ever seen, absolutely mesmerizing in the way it shimmered and pulsed.

And Levi? Well, he was perfectly content to let it burn away his thoughts. It was real and it was present, providing a semblance of stability in a life that had suddenly become topsy-turvy and inside out.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, watching the little star as it hypnotized his brain away. Could have been a few minutes, could have been an hour, it wasn’t like he particularly cared. Hell, he didn’t even have the presence of mind to know where in the fuck him and his mini sun were standing.

At some point, he noticed a person trying to call his name. It sounded distant and far away, so he didn’t give it much notice until the source of it was literally right in front of him.

“Levi! Snap out of it!” the person shouted, shaking his shoulders in a futile attempt to catch his attention, “Hange, you mind telling me what exactly is going on here?!”

His eyes focused somewhat at the sound of a familiar name and he inhaled sharply for the first time in what felt like forever.

“I don’t know, some kind of shock maybe? We were just reading and he straight up disappeared!”

The person, whom he could now identify as the commander, pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation as he attempted to keep his cool.

“Yes, I figured as much, but I meant what’s the deal with,” he gestured vaguely to the glowing light source that still held the majority Levi’s attention, “this…thing. Is it dangerous? Friendly? Some sort of magic, or perhaps a result of science?”

“Erwin, I really wish I knew, it would be so freaking cool if I did. All I know at the moment is that it’s been there whenever he got cold, so it might be linked to him somehow, but earlier it was a lot smaller and less bright.”

They took a deep breath before poking it tentatively, probably afraid of being burned again. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, and instead of being pushed back by the heat, their arm just passed through it harmlessly, cutting off a good chunk of the light as they did so.

“Ah!! Fascinating!” they did it again, giggling gleefully as they made a strobe effect with their gloved hands.

“Hange, don’t blind him,” the commander sighed, gently knocking their arm away, “So what exactly happened while I was in the Interior? A summary, please, no need to describe every little detail.”

The scientist pouted at his restrictions, but nodded anyways. There was no way that they would pass up the opportunity to infodump on someone who was literally asking for it.

“Okay, so to start.” They paused and inhaled loudly, apparently trying to get as much air into their lungs as possible before they could expel it at high speeds, “Levi woke up and was completely just... out of it, you know? He does this spacing out thing, kinda like he’s doing now, except he would actually respond to stimuli back at Infirmary. I give him some medicine for his fever, and he starts talking about this dream he had. Now this is gonna get pretty weird from here on out, so be prepared for that. Also I’m at least 98% sure that he’s not crazy, which is good!! Alright, you ready?”

Erwin grimaced and nodded, bracing himself for the rant that was sure to follow.

“Cool! So his dream, or I’m pretty sure it actually wasn’t a dream, but I’ll call it that for lack of a better term, was essentially what I believe to be contact with a non-human entity!!” They grinned, spreading their arms out like it was some sort of amazing news, which it technically was. However, there was no thunderous applause or surprised gasps, so they rolled their eyes and continued, “He described the new life-form as looking like they were made of wood, with little blue fires for eyes, as well as carved facial features. Said they called themselves, or herself I guess, but I’d hate to assume, ‘Lady Sidhe’. Anyways, they were somehow able to bend water to their will, as well as grow branches out of the ground with a wave of their hand! And from what Levi told me of their two’s conversation, they’re thousands of years old, possibly more! Can you believe it, Erwin?! A being that predates the Walls, possibly even Humanity itself!!”

They paused a moment to pant for breath, which also gave the commander time to process what they had just said. It certainly sounded more than a little outlandish, but there was at least some proof provided by the glowing mote of light and heat that was shielding them all from the snow. 

“Well apparently, Lady Sidhe wants Eren, to, like, heal him or something. I think it has to do with his current inability to transform. Levi didn’t really talk too much about our lovely and _cute_ little shapeshifter, but he said that Lady Sidhe wants him back A-S-A-P. Anyways, after all that, he told me that we could probably find out more from the books, so we went outside, the glowy thing happened, then the barracks, I fell, we read, the end! Now you’re all caught up!”

As they finished talking, Levi felt himself slowly start to zone back into his surroundings, especially with the mention of Eren. A headache started to flare up inside of his blissfully cloudy brain, which was unfortunately beginning to remember The Pain and Feelings from earlier. At least they were a bit less invasive than they had previously been, now existing rather passively instead of trying to shut him down so that he could process.

“Ah, well I suppose that will make the news I have slightly better,” Erwin said, before standing up straighter so that he could announce whatever was to come without running out of air prematurely, “Eren’s court date has been moved up a bit, though I wasn’t told why. Might have something to do with the incident from the visit, or possibly because of his impending birthday.”

His words caused Levi’s fragile state of general floatiness to snap, and he came plummeting down from the metaphorical clouds with a jolt.

“When?” His body didn’t move, but his flat, distant eyes locked onto the commander in a slightly chilling stare.

“Levi, I’m gl-”

“ _When_ , Shitty Eyebrows?” he growled, cutting him off as his hands instinctively curled into fists at his sides.

Erwin sighed quietly and stepped back, avoiding Levi’s gaze as much as he could. Slight tension filled the air, and the light seemed to burn brighter the longer he waited, growing along with the captain’s impatience and frustration.

“Tomorrow.”

Levi’s world came crashing down around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *casually takes like half a week to post shit*
> 
> Yeah sorry about that, yesterday was my brother's birthday, so that was pretty chaotic and took away a lot of my time. Also had to finish my finals, which....yeah. Yikes. My poor teachers.
> 
> Anyways! Time for sorta random trivia! 
> 
> I based the "shadow-play" scene on an old thing that pirates did, idr what it's called but basically they would hang a lamp or two from the masts of their ship, then go behind the sails and essentially put on a play with their shadows. Common play topics included romances, fake trials/executions, dramatic fighting, etc. Basically I thought that the Scouts that really fucking rad way to blow off steam would be fun, so now its here! Funnily enough, about a day after I wrote that scene, I got weirdly obsessed with sea shanties, which I'm currently listening to, feeling like I want to punch some Englishmen. (no offence to anyone from britain, but damn if these IRA songs dont hit different at midnight o'clock...)
> 
> Going slightly back on topic, the next chapter and maybe the chapter after will probably be the trial. I have LOADS of ideas for it, so idk how long it'll take to write/edit, hopefully no more than a few days. Also I can't WAIT to explore Levi's new power thing, I already have like 4 pages of notes and doodles about it.


	15. Chapter 15 (aka pt 1 of chapter 16)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was originally fucking massive, so I split it into two parts: before and during the trial. There's a bit of other stuff happening too, but the focus is on that. Hell, I even managed to throw in a bit of fluff amidst this stormy, angsty mess of a chapter.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -mentions of stress, anxiety, mental breakdowns, etc. nothing super graphic tho!
> 
> -temporary blindness
> 
> -descriptions of a blizzard, but don't worry, theres a lil wisp to make sure no one gets hypothermia
> 
> \- horrible names and puns
> 
> -sort of sex jokes?? lmao it's Jean messing with a very confused and innocent Historia. (well, Christa, but still.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh buddy boy it's been, like, a whole ass week. I'm so sorry, I just started my second term of the school year, so I've had to actually participate in class discussions instead of writing lmao. Also, i've been fucking exhausted because of my brother getting Special Birthday Treatment, meaning that all the work got shoved onto me... definitely not good for my creative energy, led to a bit of writer's block in some sections. Sorry if the quality of these two chapters fluctuates, it took a while before I was (mostly) happy with it.
> 
> Okay, enough of my whining and excuses!! Enjoy the double whammy!

“ _Tomorrow_? As in, we have less than 24 hours until they decide to fucking _kill_ the best person on this shitty planet?”

Erwin studied him for a moment, trying to read him so that he could say whatever he thought the captain needed to hear, be it flimsy comforts, gentle harassment over his word choices, consolation, or even just a non-existent silver lining. Unfortunately for him, Levi was showing about as much emotion as a block of ice, and his eyes were about as cold as one too.

“Think of it as an escape of sorts,” he began, clearly going with the “bright side” approach, as horrible as it may have been, “With any luck, we’ll be able to get him home in time for his birthday. And it’s about 16 hours, not 24. Most of it should be taken up by sleeping or travelling anyways, so it’s sooner than you think.”

“Eyebrows, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but ‘luck’ seems to be in short supply these days.”

The commander grimaced, gaze focusing on a nearby tree rather than Levi’s harsh, stormcloud grey eyes.

“It’s not _all_ horrible Levi,” Hange said, coming to stand between the two so that they could place a comforting hand on the captain’s shoulder. “It means you’ll get to see Eren faster than we thought! I know you miss him more than you’re letting on.”

“Yeah, except it’s under the worst fucking circumstances imaginable. Walls only know what the fuck he’s been through without m- without _anyone_ there to protect him. Have either of you even fucking thought about what the trial’s going to be like? I have. We’re gonna need to pretend that we only want him as a weapon, not because he’s a person with a right to exist. You both should realize that Zackly isn’t going to give a single fuck about his life unless we can prove that he’s useful to Humanity. Do you have any fucking clue what that’ll be like for me?! To just act like I don’t fucking care about whether he lives or dies?!? To watch people-” He struggled to catch his breath, barely managing to shove out the last part of the sentence, “To watch people fucking _hurt_ him to prove a point?”

Both of his friends watched him in stunned silence. Neither of them were particularly used to hearing such raw emotion in Levi’s voice, especially not when there was something bordering on desperate about the way he spoke.

Erwin was the first to recover. He marched over to where Levi was standing and forced him to hold his gaze for a solid two seconds before speaking in an annoyingly collected and neutral tone.

“Eren _is_ a weapon,” he said, words infuriating the captain enough so that he had his full attention, “He is a _tool_ , and I think it’s important that you remember that come tomorrow. Everything you just said was true, including the worst bits. If any of us, especially you, of all people, go easy on him when the time comes, we’ll be called out for favoritism. If we let them know that we see him as anything other than an advantage, they _will_ view it as an ulterior motive, and they _will_ dismiss our arguments out of hand. I’ve run every scenario both in my head and on paper. They all came to the same conclusion. You are the weak spot Levi, more than anyone or anything else. So, if you want to see your precious bird-boy alive through the end of the week, I suggest you get absolutely superb at acting within the next 16 hours.”

It was Levi’s turn to be stunned. Fucking Erwin had no business being that much of an asshole, even it was technically his job. The commander knew exactly where to hit and what to avoid, which was now culminating in one absolutely staggering blow to Levi’s already fragile emotional state. He had been wound far too tightly for a long, long time, and now Erwin had pulled too hard and too quickly for him to stay together.

Everyone seems to have this idea that some people can go from 1 to 100 in a few seconds. This might be true in some cases, but nine times out of ten, it’s completely wrong. You see, if you think that someone can switch or escalate moods that fast, then you’ve simply failed to notice how long they’ve been at 99.

And Levi? He had been teetering at the precipice of 100 for far too long. His uncaring and indifferent expression were the only things keeping him from falling off the peak of his self-built mountain of pain, and Erwin's words made them finally dissolve into thin air.

Now another question; when you stretch a string too far, what does it do?

It snaps.

_Levi_ snapped.

Everything went dark.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Levi was getting real fucking tired of waking up in places that he didn’t remember coming to.

Honestly, within the past two months, he had had nearly the same awakening around 7 times, give or take a few. It was quite possibly the worst way to come out of unconsciousness, because not only did he have to mentally re-adjust to reality, but his senses were also completely and utterly confused about what was going on around him.

The first thing that he picked up on was how hollow he felt. Like he was lighter somehow. Not in the same way that he had when _that person_ had first gone missing, but fairly similar. It wasn’t so much a sensation of “something is missing and I need to find it”, and was instead more like “I’m empty. I wonder where my insides went. Oh well.”. Sure, it was still very much something he could feel, but he felt less... obsessed was the most accurate, with finding the lost parts of him.

Once he got used to the rather strange feeling, he turned his awareness outwards, attempting to get a look at his surroundings. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see, let alone properly assess anything around him, because there was a pink-gold light flooding his vision. Somehow, it didn’t hurt his eyes at all, it just stopped him from seeing, like a blindfold, except the darkness was replaced by…whatever this was. Well, he had a pretty good guess of what was causing it, but he couldn’t be sure because, y’know, the whole blindness thing. Did he mention that he couldn’t see? Very annoying.

He eventually realized that his best bet was to try and get rid of the light like he had before. Unfortunately, when he tried to pull up the same memories from the previous attempt, he found that they were…changed. Different, somehow. They were the exact same events with the exact same details, but it was like trying to listen to someone whispering from 20 meters away. He could tell that they were supposed to incite emotion, specifically happiness and comfort, but for whatever reason, they weren’t. In fact, the only thing he could really _feel_ was that hollow sensation and the weird light.

“Go away,” he muttered, vaguely commanding the glow around him, or perhaps the feeling that gnawed at his chest. A bit of both, if he was being honest.

Somewhat surprisingly, (normally it would have been shocking, or at the very least, kinda interesting) the pinkish halo around his eyes dissipated, shrinking down to a little wisp of light that floated above his face. 

Blinking, his retinas began adjusting to the sudden change in brightness. He looked around, or at least as much as he could because his head and neck felt like jelly, and noticed that he was laying on the table/bed in Hange’s newly reconstructed tent.

Honestly, he should have guessed that they would take him there. Four-Eyes probably wanted to experiment on him and the mini-star or something. (He really needed a better name for it.)

“You in here, Shitty-Glasses?” he called, attempting to sit up so that he could see things other than the ceiling, “I’m awake. Again. How many times is this shit gonna happen?”

There was no verbal response, but there was a loud crash and a yell before Hange came stumbling through the doorway, (or was it technically a tent-flap-way? Whatever.) looking…well, fucking absurd wouldn’t even _begin_ to cover it. 

He had only ever seen them in their super-formal-official uniform once before, and that was a long time ago. Suddenly, he could understand exactly why they avoided the outfit at all costs.

It was, for lack of a better description, completely ridiculous. They had absolutely refused to wear either the male or female uniform, something about how some clothes shouldn’t dictate how people viewed them, and had instead opted to combine parts of both. Now, the official government uniforms were horrible in their own right, no matter which one you chose to wear. The material was always painfully stiff and itchy, not to mention that it was always just slightly too tight for comfort. Cravats were mandatory, something that every single Scout universally hated, with white for women and blue for men, to match their insignia. Hange, of course, had dyed theirs bright fucking yellow, in an admittedly admirable gesture of “fuck you” to whomever had the idiocy and audacity to try and assume their gender.

The other thing that really stood out was the odd combination of suit jacket and skirt, which wasn’t actually a skirt so much as a side-split piece of long, green fabric that stopped near their ankles, revealing the black pants and boots that they had on underneath. 

“Interesting ensemble you got going there Four-Eyes,” he snorted, earning him an irritated huff from the scientist, who was fiddling with their shirt fastening.

They chucked their horribly rumpled cravat at him, glaring at the offending piece of yellow fabric that was now sitting on the bed beside him.

“Un-fuck-inize that for me please, I’m going to feed it to my rats at this rate.”

Levi raised his eyebrow at their made-up expression. Normally, they would have used some ridiculous word that they had pulled straight from a thesaurus, but it would appear that they had given up on wit for the time being, probably because they were too busy wrestling with the shirt that they were wearing. He sighed, rolling his eyes halfheartedly before picking up their cravat to straighten it out.

“Why are you even putting this shit on?” he groaned, shaking the finally fixed neckpiece so that the ruffles looked like they were artfully fluffed instead of just fucked-up, “Got a hot date or something? Finally hook up with that assistant fellow?”

The scientist turned bright red, temporarily ignoring their half-undone top so that they could cross their arms in indignation.

“You idiot, I did not!!” They finished fastening the last hook to its proper spot, then tucked it carefully into their pants. “Besides, Shortstack, unless you hit your head when you passed out, you should know full well why I’m putting up with this mess. Ugh, why can’t it just have normal buttons like a proper dress shirt?! Who thought this hook-and-eye design was a good idea?!”

Oh. Yeah. _That_ thing was happening today. (Tomorrow? Whatever, he decided that time didn’t matter anymore.) Not good.

He swallowed thickly, refusing to let his unease slip through the wall that he was slowly building as a defense mechanism. Thankfully, Hange didn’t press for once, either not noticing or politely ignoring his slight discomfort.

“Be grateful that we’re not in Garrison, I hear that they have to deal with vests and corsets. At least we just need our jackets or cloaks. Anyways, what time is it?”

“Oh Walls, and here I thought ours was ridiculous!” they replied, eyes widening in horror at the idea of trying to wear either of those, “And it’s just past midnight, so we need to leave soon to get to the Interior on time. You want me to find you a men’s uniform from the Laundry Center?”

Levi stared at them, eyes flat and uninterested.

“You think I’d willingly wear anything that ridiculous? Fuck that, best they’re getting out of me is my cloak and maybe a cravat.”

“Awww, so you’re not going to dress up for Eren?” they pouted, clearly trying to get some emotion out of him, “I’m sure h-”

“Don’t, Four-Eyes.”

He hated how ragged his voice sounded. Part of him knew that he should get small details like that under control if him or anyone he cared about was going to survive this trial. The other part said that it didn’t matter, that Eren was going to be killed no matter how cold he was. He heavily ignored that voice. 

They sighed dramatically, arms crossed over their chest either in mockery or just plain old annoyance. “Fine, whatever, be like that I guess. Anyways, we should go before Erwin leaves without us. Can you stand?”

Resisting the urge to strangle the scientist with their own offensively vibrant cravat, he rolled his eyes and put his feet on the floor testily. Thankfully, everything seemed to be in working order, much to Levi’s surprise. He had figured that he would be dehydrated or something, or that he would get the usual few seconds of blacking out that came with standing up too fast. In fact, he felt, dare he say it, well rested, or as well rested as one could be in the middle of the night.

Hange passed him a spare cloak that they had lying around, one of the official green ones with the Scout insignia on the back. He swapped it out for the grey one he was wearing, because as much as he preferred the more comfortable one, he had to have at least some part of a uniform on in order to get into…what was it called again? The trial-house? Judge-place? Whatever, didn’t matter.

They walked out of the tent, only to be met by a blast of absolutely frigid wind. Apparently, the storm didn’t give a shit about how urgently they needed to get to the Capital, and had continued on its merry way of coating everything in snow. The mini-sun popped up, prepared to do its job of, well, being a mini-sun. 

There was a shout from his left, and he turned to see a team of Scouts struggling to get one of their cloaks untangled from a tree. He watched as one of them slipped on the ice, crashing into (and subsequently knocking over) the others like dominos.

“What’s that light over there?!” one of them shouted, and the voice was familiar enough for Levi to recognize them as one of the 104th, either Buzzcut or Bookworm, from the sound of it.

“Shut up and help me Connie! Commander Erwin’s gonna be fucking pissed if we’re late, and if I go one more fucking _minute_ without being closer to my brother, I swear to the Walls I _will_ end up killing someone tonight!”

Levi turned to the scientist next to him. They seemed to be having the same dilemma as him; should they help the others, which would reveal Levi’s sun thing and probably raise a lot of questions, or should they leave them to figure it out on their own? 

“I’m gonna help her get out of that,” Hange whispered, keeping their voice low so that they weren’t heard, “You go on to Erwin’s office, and try not to kill him, ‘kay?”

He rolled his eyes, which was rather pointless considering that the scientist couldn’t really see him, then started heading towards the nearest lamp post so that he could figure out which road to take. His wisp of light followed, and he realized that it probably looked creepy as hell if anyone was watching him. Perhaps someone would think that there was a fire and chuck water at him. That would definitely not be pleasant, regardless of how warm the pocket of sunshine felt.

Just like in the fog, the oil lamps were just barely visible in the dark, snowy air, providing an eerie path of flickers. Levi made good use of them, because even though he could see better than most thanks to the tiny inferno, it certainly didn’t look like a sunny day. He could barely make out the outlines of buildings and streets, and that was mostly because they stopped the reflective snow that melted around him as he walked. Even then, he had still managed to trip over at least 3 drainpipes on his way to see Eyebrows, something that would probably be worse than landing in the cold snow over and over.

When he did finally arrive outside of the commander’s office, he glared at the somehow un-burnt building briefly, before entering. It pissed him off that the fire hadn’t even had the decency to destroy some paperwork in exchange for burning down Levi’s entire fucking house.

Before he could announce his arrival, he stopped in time to realize that Eyebrows himself was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a stack of letters on his desk, as well as a note next to them that read ‘ _I have orders to arrive early, there’s messages for each of you here, as well as letters of admittance so that you can go into the courthouse. I wish you the best of luck on your trip, and I’ll see you when you get there!_ ’

Well, at least he didn’t have to deal with Erwin’s stupid speeches while trying not to freeze to death on his way to the Interior. Still, couldn’t that asshole have stayed just a little longer? Without him, either Hange or Levi would be on brat-sitting duty for the duration of the ride, and he knew that the scientist would most certainly push the responsibility on to him.

Sighing, he began looking through the letters until he reached the one with his name on it, written in Erwin’s loopy, calligraphic handwriting. He vaguely wondered how long it had taken to write all of them, but he had seen the commander work insanely quickly on multiple occasions, so he just chalked it up to that. There was also a small message in the bottom left corner that read ‘ _Open once you’re past Wall Rose_ ’. Part of him wanted to disregard the note so that he could read it sooner rather than later, but he was interrupted by the door opening behind him, letting in a swirl of bone-chilling air.

“Thank the Walls we made it,” Hange groaned from behind him, slumping into one of the chairs in front of the absent commander’s desk, “Where’s Erwin?”

“He had to go early or something, I don’t know. Here, come get your letter.”

The scientist perked up at the idea of reading, and walked over to the stack of papers before plucking out the one addressed to them. They apparently didn’t get instructions of when to open it, because they broke the wax seal practically the second they got it.

As they read their message, the younger Scouts started to come into the small room, all looking equally tired and cold. He pointed to the stack whenever one of them looked confused, mostly because he didn’t want to repeat the same thing over and over again. None of them opened their letters after finding the right one, meaning that they had all gotten the same note that he had; to wait until later before opening them.

“Okay!!” Hange shouted, grabbing everyone’s attention, “Our mysteriously-vanished commander gave me instructions on how to get there, so looks like I’m in charge of steering. Levi, you get the wonderful job of making sure nobody kills each other! Anyways, to the stables we go!!”

There were a couple protests as the scientist led them out the door, both from the newly appointed babysitter, as well as the babies themselves. Well, they were all technically adults, but they still acted like children sometimes, so in Levi’s mind they were literal toddlers. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, it would be nice to get some innocence back from the all-consuming jaws of Time.

Levi made sure that he was the last one out, because he knew what would happen the moment he stepped over the office’s threshold and into the snow. He couldn’t stop the little glowy-orb from popping into existence above his head, nor could he stop the gaping stares coming from the people around him when it did.

“What is that thing?”

“It’s so warm, don’t complain about it!!”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Where did it come from?”

“Why is it above the captain’s head?”

“There’s a wisp inside the Walls?!”

The captain sighed and pushed through the shocked gaggle of brats, passing Hange so that he could get away from all their stupid questions. It wasn’t like he could answer them, since he honestly had no idea what was going on with the fucking thing.

“It follows me around for some reason.” He turned his head around to emphasize his point, making the light bob slightly above him, “So, unless you want to do this ride with your balls freezing off, you better be real fuckin’ glad it’s here. Now shut up, except you, Reindeer, what’s up with you calling it a ‘wisp’?”

The blonde Scout flinched. “Well, you know, it… looks like a wisp of light? Sorta like a candle flame?”

It was a shitty lie, but Levi didn’t have the energy to press him for information, so he just rolled his eyes and turned back to the snow-covered road in front of him.

Judging from the bickering behind him and the rapidly approaching headache, he was in for a long fucking night.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Fuck snow.

It…well, it wasn’t as shitty as fog, no, nothing would ever beat that fucking grey shit that had nearly killed him from sheer anxiety, but it was a very close second.

Even without it actually touching his skin, Levi found the little shards of ice to be incredibly fucking annoying. They made it impossible to see past maybe a meter from his little sun-bubble, and just when he thought it was lightening up a little, it seemed to get just that much harder to compensate.

After the 104th’s third round of “I Spy” (Gee Connie, I wonder what white thing you can see? Is it maybe another pile of FUCKING _SNOW_?!?), he was about ready to fight a cloud so that he could get rid of the damn storm. Alas, the moon was beginning to dip below the horizon, and they were so slowed down that they had only passed through 2 of the 3 major towns between Headquarters and Wall Rose. There was still no sign of it letting up anytime soon, much to Levi’s frustration.

“If you fucking brats sing that damn beer bottle song one more time, I will make this thing leave your asses in the cold,” Levi groaned, hand reaching above his head menacingly, as if he could actually do something like that.

Thankfully, the threat worked, and there was terrified yelps of protest from the people behind him before they finally shut up, leaving him with an almost-smile on his face and slight relief from his headache. Peace and quiet, how nice it was to have that for once.

Yep, nice and soundless. No incessant chattering to irritate him.

Extremely quiet…

…Damn it.

The silence was weird and awkward to his ears, and the howling of the wind was suddenly too loud for comfort. His brain just couldn’t settle on anything, could it?

“If you want something productive to do,” he sighed, giving into his urge to break the stifling silence, “Try and come up with a name for the sun-thing. Nothing stupid though, I’m not gonna call it ‘Glitter’ or anything dumb like that.”

The brats behind him immediately began talking once more, but at least this time they had a goal in mind that wasn’t just “make as much noise as possible”. They started bouncing ideas off of each other, some of them a bit better than the others, but that wasn’t saying much because he heard at least three people suggest that he call it “Glowette”.

“Why don’t we give it, like, a sentimental name, or something with a hidden meaning?” one of them suggested, and it was unfortunately the best idea that Levi bad heard in the last 5 minutes.

“Oh, that sounds nice! Do we know any interesting words with double meanings?”

There were multiple snickers from behind him, probably caused by the accidental innuendo that was unfortunately placed within the perfectly innocent question.

“Christa, I’ve warned you so many times about not giving Jean and Connie opportunities like that…”

“Shut up Ymir, it’s only a matter of time before someone finally tells her what-”

“We are NOT having that conversation in these fucking conditions, Horseface. Or ever, actually, so fuck off.”

There was a slight chorus of ‘oooooh’, and Levi wondered how the fuck any of these idiots were old enough to enlist, let alone drink or fight titans. It was a complete mystery to him how old they actually were, probably somewhere around 18 or 20 at the most, but they may as well have been 11 year-olds fighting in the field over a ball.

“I love watching Jean get his ass beat as much as anybody, but it’s too late at night for this bullshit, so back to names,” someone yawned.

“Yeah! So like I said earlier, are there any cool, interesting words that have… an important-sounding ring to them, I guess?”

There were a few seconds of silence as everyone presumably searched their memory for anything that fit the description. Someone suggested “Ray”, as in “Ray of sunshine”, but everyone immediately ragged on them for their shitty choice, so they promptly shut up.

Eventually, Levi got tired of listening to them try to be deep and thoughtful, so he yelled at Four-Eyes, the human thesaurus themselves, so that they could help the pour souls behind them. They immediately obliged, allowing him to take the front spot so that they could join the conversation, which finally put the sound at a more comfortable level. Unfortunately, it also meant that they had to crowd closer in order to stay in the heat bubble, so there were a lot more hitting and shoving noises. He pretended that he couldn’t hear them.

Finally, after at least another hour of deliberation, they decided on one name, Clara. Apparently, it meant “clarity and light” in some other language, but more importantly, it wasn’t some bullshit like “Fireball”. Besides, Clara was a human’s name, so it would be easy to talk about without revealing that it was a weird-ass sunshine orb that followed him around. Overall, Levi decided that he rather liked it, not that he would say anything past “It doesn’t suck, good job.”

The group finally arrived at Wall Rose just as the sky was turning pinkish-grey, meaning that dawn would follow soon after. Thankfully, the storm seemed to lessen once they passed the third town, and he managed to get the ball, no, _Clara_ to go away practically right before they got to the Gate. The others whined about the sudden cold, but he ignored them, instead choosing to talk to the guards about letting them all inside.

Once inside, almost all of them made nearly simultaneous moves to take out and subsequently open their letters from Erwin. Levi took a moment to glare dubiously at it before breaking the seal, wary of whatever “advice” that the commander had left for him.

‘ _Levi, you already know what to do, but I’ll go over the plan just in case. Your job is essentially to remain quiet and maintain a somewhat threatening presence. I know it’s going to be difficult, given the circumstances, but I really need you to trust me on this, not just as your commander, but as your friend. Best case scenario, you just need to act like you don’t care. Unfortunately, as you pointed out earlier today, none of us seem to have the best luck, so you need to be prepared in case things go sour._

_In the event of:_

_A- Religious preaching and/or condemning, of anything, including you or Eren, I want you to ignore them as much as possible. If you have to answer a direct question, I trust that you’ll know the right thing to say, but, and I have already stressed this more than enough, be careful._

_B- Taunts/accusations about your two’s relationship, you need to deny as much as possible. Try and distance yourself from his narrative, because things will get really bad if they think that you have emotional ties with him. Stick to the facts and specific events, don’t put in any emotion if you can help it._

_C- The MP’s truly not budging on their stance; this one’s going to be the trickiest one, but also the most possible. I have a feeling that they will try to spin it so that Eren seems uncontrollable, and if left unrestrained or alive, that he is potentially a fatal threat to humanity as a whole. If this happens, I need you to be the one acting as his “controller” of sorts. Maintain the idea that in a worst-case scenario, you can keep him in check. Prove to them, by whatever means necessary, that you’d be willing to kill him if you had to, even when both of us fully know that you’d never willingly endanger his life, no matter the circumstances._

_Anything else, I should be able to handle. I’ll see you soon, and may Fortune be with us for once._ ’

Levi felt vaguely sick to his stomach after finishing, but he pushed the sensation down as he and the others drew closer to the grand and intimidating-looking courthouse. He tucked the letter into his pocket, ignoring the fact that it felt like an emotional brick that was dragging at his mind. The idea of… well, he really hoped he was misinterpreting Erwin’s words, but it would seem that the commander wanted him to beat the shit out of Eren to prove a point. He really, desperately wanted for that not to be the case.

The group passed their horses off to a few stablehands who were waiting near the base of the courthouse’s marble stairs. A couple of the brats were still gaping at the general energy of the Interior, which looked almost creepy in the early morning haze. There weren’t any doll-people walking around yet, but he figured that there would be quite the crowd once the trial actually started. 

Someone directed them to a waiting area inside, where there were tables of breakfast foods laid out, as well as a couple government officials standing around and chatting idly. It only took a couple seconds for him to spot Commander Eyebrows himself, because he was sitting near a window, eating some sort of pastry as he scribbled something on a stack of papers in front of him. He glanced up when the door opened, and immediately waved them over, giving them one of his blank smiles as he did so. Levi couldn’t blame him, the man had probably been up for a full day at this point with no sleep.

“Sorry for leaving without a word, there was a slight change of plans. Nothing major, though, and the trial will start as scheduled, right at 7:30. Until then, you’re free to do anything you want, except talk to any non-Scouts. I don’t want any information,” he glanced at Levi for a moment, gaze bordering on cautionary, “or opinions being leaked. Oh, and Hange, stay here because I need to talk to you.”

Everyone except the aforementioned scientist took that as their cue to leave. Ponytail, Horse-Idiot, and Buzzcut practically sprinted towards the buffet tables, probably planning to eat as much Interior food as possible. The two totally-not-girlfriends went outside, presumably because Blondie looked more and more uncomfortable the longer she spent in the mildly crowded atrium. Sweater and Reindeer followed a while after, though they went more towards the left side of the building rather than the right.

This unfortunately left Levi with Murder-Scarf and Bookworm, all of them entirely unsure of where they should be. Levi knew that he was too anxious to eat, so he couldn’t blame the brats for not getting anything themselves. Plus, Interior’s breakfasts always tasted sickly-sweet and overly processed, so it really wasn't worth the effort.

“You know, I think there’s a library somewhere in the right wing,” Hange giggled, suddenly popping up behind them, “Better to be awkward and anxious about a certain person in a room full of books, right?”

Levi glared at them as they slipped away again, blowing a kiss in his general direction.

“Where the fuck’re you going, Four-Eyes? Don’t you want to nerd-out over books with us?”

The scientist sighed, clutching their chest dramatically. 

“I would absolutely love to, but unfortunately I have places to be, things to do, a birdbrained boy to check up on.”

He momentarily forgot how to breathe, but by the time he could speak, they had already waltzed their way out the door. It took a considerable amount of effort not to chase them down and strangle them for being such an ass. Would it have killed them to be a little more subtle?

“So, library then?” Bookworm asked, clearly staying true to his nickname, “If you want to, of course.”

“Not like I have anywhere better to be, and all this getting fucking stared at isn’t exactly a picnic. Lead the way.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

They spent a good half hour in the library, but that was after they spent nearly double that trying to find it. The damn hallways were just so big and twisty, it was far too easy to get lost in them.

Thankfully, when they did get there, they discovered that it was blissfully empty, which at least allowed them some privacy. Why would they need privacy? Well, because each of them immediately started to freak the fuck out.

Armin did his best to comfort the two Ackermanns, even though he himself looked like he wanted to cry. Levi had shut down completely, becoming totally unresponsive as he attempted to force himself to come to terms with what was happening. Mikasa, on the other hand, seemed like she was going to start punching things if she didn’t calm down in time. Neither of them were mentally or emotionally ready for the fucking torture that they knew was coming. 

“Why don’t we, um, actually, what’s on your guys’ letter? Did you get any specific instructions?”

Levi shuddered at the thought of what was written on the paper in his pocket, and withdrew into himself even further, putting up an icy wall between himself and the outside world. The girl next to him, who, after a long night of bickering and long-winded explanations, turned out to be his distantly related cousin or something, silently passed her letter to Armin, who opened it and then immediately blanched while reading it.

“O-okay then. Um, good luck with that, please don’t get attack anyone or anything. I’m sure the Commander will make sure everything is fine, alright?”

“Hey, at least you brats didn’t get a list of worst-case scenarios,” Levi muttered, hands tugging slightly at his hair as he tried to maintain his grip on reality, “I’m gonna have to… Walls, I really need to get better at this whole acting thing.”

“You don’t have to detail how your adopted mother died and how your adopted father was a neglectful dick 80% of the time.”

“So you got the sob story role? Wish I could show that much feeling. Eyebrows wants me to be a fucking rock the second I go in that damn room.”

Armin sighed, whispering something about mental health and group therapy as he patted his friend’s back in a hopefully placating gesture. Mikasa shook it off, trying to decide between glaring at him or Levi.

“Mmm, well you won’t have to say much then. Don’t worry about acting, you’re already an icy asshole as it is.”

The captain barked out a harsh laugh, taking some sort of strange comfort in the taunt. “Glad I’m not a volatile cannon waiting to fire the second someone gets close to my brother. Would help if I actually had a brother, though.”

“Fair, but that won’t do me much good when I’m supposed to be calmly explaining how I thought he died. Maybe we should switch positions, Armin can pretend not to care, I’ll feed you lines about my tragic past, and I’ll do whatever Armin has to do. Probably sit and read, or something like that.”

“Yeah, I don’t think Bookworm would like being under orders to beat the shit out of the person he's fallen for.”

There was a moment of stunned silence as the words sunk in. Levi desperately wanted to let the ground swallow him whole, or maybe for him to just die on the spot. Yeah, a heart attack would have been real nice right then. Anything, as long as he couldn’t say more stupid shit without thinking.

The scariest part was how _natural_ it felt, like the sentence was just begging to come out of his mouth. He was supposed to have a good filter. Hell, he generally avoided talking to people in the first place, specifically to avoid doing anything dumb like that. Still, it was like the words just needed to be said, to someone, anyone really. He couldn’t even think about the possibility until yesterday, he had been too dense and too worried to realize anything of the sort. But for some reason, he was perfectly fine with saying it before...whatever was going to happen in the next 24 hours.

Part of him said that he’d always known, since the day that idiot had literally swooped in to save him. But admitting it to himself, much less casually saying it to someone who would probably murder him for less, was completely fucking terrifying.

Unfortunately, his internal screaming was cut short by a loud chime resounding through the entire building, echoing through the halls and leaving vibrations in its wake. His eyes darted to the clock on the wall, realizing that it was now 7:30 AM.

“Shit, fuck, we gotta go, like, right now.”

The three of them scrambled to their feet, already sprinting towards the doors. They raced down the hallway, before stopping abruptly a few steps away from reaching everyone else so that they could look somewhat composed as they filed into the now-opened courtroom.

Erwin was sitting within the left side of the room, under the Scouts insignia painted on the wall behind him. He glared at them for a moment, clearly unhappy with their almost-tardiness, then gestured for them to come over and sit down. They did so, placing themselves in the seats that he pointed at.

Now that he could properly see what was happening inside the room, his eyes darted around until they found what they were looking for, right in the middle of the room, chained to a post behind him.

_Eren_.

Fucking finally.

As much as he wanted to celebrate and succumb to the giddy rush of emotion that crashed into him, he kept his expression bored and uninterested as he studied the restrained shifter.

He looked…broken. Wrong. Like someone had hurt him in a way that even his superpowered body couldn’t heal. All of his fire, his determination and willingness to fight, it was just…gone.

It hurt, knowing that he couldn’t go down from the wooden stands to hold him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. Levi wanted to wrap his arms around him and never let go, to protect him, to keep him safe from the entire fucking world if he had to.

He realized that Erwin was watching him, probably studying his reaction.

“Glad to see you have your game face on, Levi.”

“If you mean the fact that I’m barely stopping myself from killing half the people in this room,” he hissed, keeping his expression blank as he formed the words, “then yeah, I’d say I’m doing great.”

The commander nodded, watching as the last few people came in and sat down.

“You understand what you might have to do?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, because from the looks of it, you’re going to need to do it as convincingly as possible.”

A new person entered from the back of the room before sitting down in the chair at the front of the room. He hit his gavel once, catching everyone’s attention with a loud “BANG!”.

“The trial of Eren Yeager is hereby called into session.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hooooooo boyyyyy y'all ready for some pain?? 
> 
> Unrelated, but man I didn't even fucking bother with making all the legal shit seem believable ;-;. Hope it makes at least some sense... I have no confidence in my writing whatsoever, if you can't tell.
> 
> k, go on to the Pain Child I spent 4 days creating!!


	16. Chapter 16 (aka pt 2 of chapter 15)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y'all already know what's goin down, it's trial time baby!! 
> 
> Bit random, but if you want extra **pain**, listen to "Helpless/Bloodlines Pt. II" by Sir Sly while reading it, the vibe is immaculate.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -descriptions of violence and past trauma, as well as blood
> 
> -implied torture, and by implied I mean it's basically a fucking brick to the face
> 
> -SHIT I JUST REALIZED I FORGOT TO PUT CUSSING ON THE LAST ONE!! it's a ritual by now tbh.

For the first hour of the trial, Levi had no fucking clue what was going on.

Now, this was partially because everyone around him seemed to be speaking in code, since they were going over all the legal formalities and the like. It was utterly confusing and, in Levi’s opinion, rather stupid.

But the main reason he was blocking everything out? He was too busy staring at Eren.

The shifter himself had only made direct eye contact with him once, and had immediately started crying the second it had happened. Since then, he had kept his gaze glued at the floor, much to Levi’s concern. The more rational part of his brain said that his seemingly abrupt change in behavior could be caused by any number of things. He could have been relieved, embarrassed, scared, anything really. Levi really wished he knew for sure, it pained him to see the brunette look so dejected.

To be honest, he was okay with not having to look him in the eyes. Those piercing emeralds certainly weren’t going to make what he might have to do an easier. The thought of intentionally fucking _hurting Eren_ was _so_ much worse than any physical pain he had gone through, including literally dislocating his knee.

A single thought kept replaying in his mind, no matter how much he tried to push it away.

‘ _What do I do if I lose you?_ ’

He…had no idea. 

The first time that he actually started paying attention is when he was asked how he had met Eren. He glanced at Erwin for confirmation, which he received in the form of an assuring nod. Well, guess it was time to test his acting skills.

“It started when, on a scientific expedition into the ruins of Shinganshina, I got separated from the main group. Someone had mis-marked my map, and I ended up stranded in the forest. At some point, I fell. Got a nasty concussion from it. I woke up, realized that I was in a tree, and saw titans running at me. 3 of them, if I remember correctly,” he began, keeping his tone as bored and flat as he could.

“Were any of them the titan form of Mr. Yeager?”

“No, the ones running towards me were regular old titans. Anyways, I noticed that my gas tanks had been punctured, leaving me stranded 10 or so meters in the air. Honestly thought my ticket was about to be punched, but then the brat’s titan form beat the shit out of them before I could. I didn’t know it was him, and naturally I expected to be his next victim, so I tried to fight back, except that my concussion took over and I fell out of the tree.” He let out a puff of air, blowing his bangs out of his face. “Woke up about, uh, 3 days later, give or take. Found out that I had dislocated my knee. That was the first time I saw him in his human form, when he popped my knee back into place. Almost killed him for that.”

“Did he show any signs of open hostility?”

“Unless you count being annoying, no. He couldn’t speak, not any human language anyways, but he wouldn’t stop pestering me with notes and shit.”

“Elaborate on that, if you may.”

“What, his voice? Just ask him to talk, you’ll see what I mean. As for the messages, he was either answering my questions or asking me things, mostly about life inside the Walls. He didn’t seem like he was spying or anything, if that’s what you’re wondering, he just seemed really fuckin’ curious.” 

There were paranoid murmurs from the MP’s section, and Levi had to resist the urge to punch the nearest unicorn-crested idiot. Who the fuck would Eren even be spying for? The titans? That was the stupidest idea he’d ever heard, and he’d been around Hange for nearly a decade.

“Mr. Yeager, I’d like to hear this non-human language that the Captain speaks of.”

Levi winced slightly, knowing full well that Eren didn’t particularly enjoy using his anomalous vocal cords. As expected, the brunette looked rather unhappy, but still opened his mouth and let out a series of screeches, chirps, and other various animal sounds. Unfortunately, he was cut off when he started coughing his lungs out, probably from all the sudden effort, and Levi had to physically stop himself from hopping over the stands to check on him.

A few of the nobles started yelling, clearly shocked and appalled by the inhuman noises. Honestly, what did they expect from someone who was literally stuck halfway between a person and a bird? Worse, though, was the small group of cultists that were either screaming “Execute the heretic!” or “Praise be to the Angel!”. Levi got a kind of vindictive satisfaction from their in-fighting. Maybe if they decided to go against themselves for long enough, then the whole organization would eventually collapse. Oh, how wonderful that would be to watch.

Zackly called for order with another banging of his hammer. It was an incredibly grating sound, but Levi supposed that it was supposed to have that effect. All the better for catching everyone’s attention, right?

“Continuing the prior account,” he declared, authoritative voice piercing through the now-hushed room, “Captain Ackermann, when did you become aware of Mr. Yeager’s other shapeshifting abilities?”

Oh, yikes. That was a tricky answer, with the whole deer encounter and whatnot.

“The first time was the evening after he set my leg. He transformed into a falcon to hunt for food, and that became common as the weeks dragged on. Since I was both immobile and unfamiliar with the territory, he used his stag form to take me around the forest, mostly to search for any nearby Scouts.”

Yeah, that was a good response. The last bit was a lie, but it gave the impression that Levi had been trying to leave since the moment he got stranded there. No emotional attachments, check. Erwin would be satisfied, at least, even if Eren was slowly looking more and more crestfallen. By the time he was done, the shifter looked almost, well, if he didn't know better, Levi would say that he looked heartbroken, but that was clearly just an exaggeration.

“Ah, thank you for your testimony. Is there anything else you’d like to add before I call on another witness?”

Erwin gave him a subtly harsh stare, trying to warn him not to say anything more than necessary. Levi ignored him, he had to take at least one risk, and besides, he had a feeling that it would pay off.

“Yes, actually. I’d like to note that he took down at least 6 titans on the night of my return to the Walls, in addition to the 3 from the weeks prior. In the time I’ve been acquainted him, he’s put an end to at least a score of those monsters. Oh, and I have eyewitnesses to back up most of them, if you’re doubting my flawless credibility.”

Another murmur ran through the crowd as he sat back down, this time impressed rather than suspicious. If Eyebrows wanted to play up the “weapon of Humanity” angle, then he’d go along to protect him, even if he thought it was total bullshit. At the very least, it earned him a subtle nod from the once-again relaxed commander. Well, as relaxed as he could be, given that a lot of the pressure was on him. Levi figured that he enjoyed the chance to manipulate, so he didn’t really pity him too much.

After that, there was a good two hours of bickering- sorry, _debating_ , from both sides of the argument, mostly consisting of whether or not he could be of any actual use to Humanity, and more importantly, if he would turn against them if given the chance. The captain blocked most of it out. He really didn’t feel like listening to the MP’s regurgitate the same shit about how he was a threat. Honestly, they should have just gone with “I’m scared of what I don’t understand, and I want to kill the things I’m scared of instead of learning to live with them like a normal, non-privileged person.” It would have summed up all of the points that they had made thus far, plus it would have the wonderful bonus of shutting them up for a while.

Eventually, the conversation rolled around to trying to discern Eren’s motives (for what, exactly, Levi didn’t know. Existing? Wanting to make a friend after being alone for 5 years?), which was Murder-Scarf’s cue to start the story of what had happened in the time leading up to the Fall. Levi decided that it was at least worth listening to, especially if it gave him more information about Eren. There was still so much he didn’t know, so much he _wanted_ to know, and if he was going to gain one fucking thing from this trial, it was the name of who to murder for fucking up the shifter’s chance at a regular life.

“Eren’s family, made up of him, his father Grisha, and his mother Carla, took me in when I was eight years old, after an incident that killed my mother and left me an orphan. I was raised as Eren’s adopted sister until I was 10, which was when the Fall happened. Prior to then, on his 12th birthday, his father showed up. Grisha was normally away on either doctor or scientist business, so it was quite strange that he came in unannounced." She paused for a moment, drawing in a breath. "I’m saying this because this is the time that I think that Eren’s genes were altered, by his own father.”

There were gasps from the audience, and Zackly suddenly looked very interested. Hell, even Erwin looked intrigued, so this was clearly not planned.

“I have no idea about the specifics,” she continued, standing as tall as possible to hide her unfortunately evident anxiety, “but I remember Grisha taking him away from his party for a few hours, then returned briefly before leaving to do what he claimed as ‘important business’. He never came back. That night, I noticed that Eren was acting differently than normal. He said that he felt sick, so I fetched his mother for him. She told me to go down to a friend’s house and stay there for the night, though I don’t know why. The next morning, he seemed relatively better, so I didn’t think anything of it, but looking back, the whole day was rather suspicious.”

“Fascinating, thank you. What happened in the Fall; were there any signs of his abilities amidst the chaos?”

Mikasa paused for a moment, thinking. Her expression changed to something a little more pained, probably because she was being told to drag up the memories of her adopted mother’s death, as well as the disappearance of her brother.

“I can’t remember anything that really struck me as unnatural. Well, except for the fact that our home was being destroyed by bloodthirsty monsters.” She inhaled shakily, trying to steady her voice in preparation of what she was about to say. “It honestly felt like a normal afternoon. I remember Eren dragging me to watch the Scouts return from their latest expedition. He’s always wanted to join them for some reason, so he was absolutely ecstatic to hear that they would be passing through town.”

Ah, so Birdbrain had _always_ been a suicidal maniac. Levi had expected as much, but that didn’t stop him from planning to berate him if he got the chance- no, _when_ he got the chance.

“After that, I think we went out to run errands, or maybe to chase each other around somewhere. We were away from the house, I know that for sure, because we started running home right after the Colossal Titan breached the Wall. Carla…she got trapped inside when the earthquake hit. We tried to get her out, but…” Mikasa trailed off for a moment before shaking her head so that she could snap back to reality. “One of her friends in Garrison, Lieutenant Hannes, tried to pull us away. She told him to save us and leave her behind. Eren absolutely refused to go, even as a titan started coming towards the house. Hannes grabbed us both and tried to run away, but Eren managed to get out of his grip. He ran towards his mom, who was- uhm- well, the titan had gotten ahold of her…. I don’t really know what happened after that, because Hannes used his ODM gear to pull me away, but I remember thinking that there was no way for him to survive. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to be proven wrong.”

Holy shit, was Levi actually feeling _bad_ for Murder-Scarf? No wonder it was snowing, apparently hell had frozen over.

Zackly nodded, probably trying to figure out what to do with the new information. “Commander Pixis, is Lieutenant Hannes here today?”

The Garrison Commander nodded sharply, before gesturing for someone behind him to come forwards, presumably the officer in question. He looked rather shell-shocked and confused, which was to be expected, seeing as he was within 3 meters someone whom he had probably assumed to be dead.

“Lieutenant, can you verify the events that Miss Ackermann just recounted?”

“Yes sir! Mikasa is telling the truth, that’s what happened on the day of the Fall, and the little spitfire- I mean, Eren, sorry, had- _has_ always wanted to fight titans, ever since he found out that they existed. He always talked about how he was going to wipe them out so that Humanity could see what was outside the Walls, but after the Fall, we figured that Eren was dead. I never imagined that he could have survived in a city overrun by titans.”

“Thank you, that is all.”

Somebody yelled an objection, something about how his childish imagination may have changed, and Levi took that as his chance to zone out again. He wanted to avoid listening to people slander Eren as much as possible, unless it related to Levi in some way.

They droned on for what felt like an eternity, with both sides hurling subtle insults at each other. Erwin’s planning skills may have been an unstoppable force, but by the Walls, the MP’s had made themselves into an immovable object, which was certainly not good news for Levi. Hell, he had even managed to drag Hange into it, making them reassure everyone in the room that Eren’s genes wouldn’t spontaneously make him aggressive. (Yes, the opposing side had literally sunk that low.)

It was pretty obvious that they were grasping at straws by the time the first recess hit. Unfortunately, their scare tactics were somehow still working, because no matter how many evidence-supported reassurances that the Scouts made, the crowd was still acting very uneasy. It was fucking pathetic how copious uses of the phrases “uncontrollable variable” and “loose cannon” could drown out the fact that over eight people had testified that Eren had literally saved his fucking life by killing multiple titans. Levi had always held a rather negative opinion of nobles, but now he was downright pissed at them.

Erwin pulled him aside during the brief intermission, confirming the rising dread growing in the pit of his stomach.

“I’m doing everything I can here, Levi, but you and I both know that there’s only one thing that will work at this point. Truly, I want you to know that I wish we had another option.”

“I’ll be fine, Eyebrows,” he muttered, ignoring the voice in his head that was telling him that he was NOT fine, “When do I do it?”

The commander sighed, giving him a sympathetic clap on his shoulder. “I’ll leave that up to you, I’m sure you’ll find the right time.”

Ah, because that was so helpful. Oh well, he could get mad at Erwin’s vagueness later.

The bell was rung a few moments later, signaling the resume of the trial. Everyone filed into the large courtroom once again, going back to their original seats as they finished off the last of their snacks.

Now that he’d been forced to pay attention to what was being said, Levi immensely regretted having working ears, or a brain to process with. There were only so many damn synonyms of “dangerous” that Levi could handle in one day, and the Military Police were seriously pushing that limit to its breaking point.

Thankfully, or unthankfully, he wasn’t quite sure, the “golden” opportunity came rather quickly. The lead speaker (Levi didn’t bother listening to his name) had slipped into a rant about how Eren wasn’t able to be contained like a regular human, something about how his healing abilities fucked with the MP’s “restraints”. Everyone knew that he really meant to say “torture devices”, but proper courtroom etiquette and blah blah blah.

There it was, the magic word he was waiting for. _Uncontrollable_.

Levi stood up abruptly, garnering a few odd looks from the crowd. Most of them were too busy staring at the angrily ranting soldier, which was fine by him.

“You know,” he drawled, voice dripping with…something. He wasn’t sure if it was darkness, sarcasm, or sheer intimidation. “You keep using that word. ‘Uncontrollable’. I don’t think it means what you think it means.”

The taunt worked, and the previously yelling speaker came to a sputtering stop, looking at him in shock and anger.

“I mean, you keep using it to refer to the brat over there.” He jerked his chin in Eren’s general direction. “But as far as I can tell, he hasn’t done anything to indicate that he can’t be forced into submission. Have you looked at him recently? He’s followed the one order he was given, and hasn’t really done anything except look miserable since then.”

The other person didn’t say anything, still too surprised that someone had the nerve to interrupt him. Levi took his silence as a cue to hop over the railing of the stands, coming to stand about a half-meter away from the rather confused looking shapeshifter.

“If he’s as feral as you claim him to be, then surely he’ll start trying to kill me the second I get close enough.”

Levi tried to keep his expression as stable as possible as he slipped his newly unsheathed dagger from where it rested on his belt. Eren tilted his head at him, a slight hint of concern flashing across those unfairly gorgeous green eyes of his.

He stalked his way over to where the brunette was sitting. Ignoring the questioning trills coming from below him, he flicked his knife upwards in a silent command. The shifter seemed to understand what he meant, and hesitantly stood up, chains rattling as he stumbled to his feet.

“See, whatever happened to you being dangerous and uncontrollable, _titan_?” He tilted the shifter’s head up with the flat of his knife, not quite piercing the skin at his neck. Levi realized, with a slight shiver, that he was fucking pissed at Eren. He was torn between wondering why oh fucking _why_ he wasn’t doing anything to stop him, as well as feeling somewhat relieved that the shifter wasn’t panicking. 

Still, he should have absolutely _hated_ Levi for what he was doing and saying. He should have been fucking livid, or at least have shown some sign of betrayal somewhere in his horribly warmth-lacking body. Instead, he just seemed…sad. Accepting. Like he had predicted this outcome.

He growled and pushed the dagger closer, pinning Eren to the post he was chained to in an attempt to shove the message through his thick skull. ‘ _Fight already, you damn idiot. Fight and show them what you can do. Hit my pressure points, transform, punch me, do literally anything prove that you’re worth so much more than they think. Please, idiot, fight so I don’t lose you_ ’. 

When it became clear that the brunette certainly wasn’t going to do anything other than accept his fate, they met in a stalemate of sorts, one that filled the air with a thick and quite frankly terrifying tension. It was like they had switched personalities, with Levi being overly aggressive and Eren doing nothing but staring into his eyes with a cold resignation in his gaze. In fact, he actually _leaned forwards_ , gently pressing his skin into the fucking knife, causing a small rivulet of blood to flow down the blade and its hilt before dripping off of the captain’s pale hands.

That was the last fucking straw. Levi seeing blood, _Eren’s_ blood, on his hands absolutely shattered him from the inside out. Hadn’t he made a promise to never hurt him, to protect him no matter the cost? Well that was out of the fucking window now. The person that he had sworn to shield from harm was fucking _bleeding_ because of him, and it hurt a hell of a lot more than the small cut on the other’s neck ever would.

In one last display of frustration, he sunk the knife up to its hilt in the wood just over Eren’s shoulder, before turning back to the horrified audience with a glare.

“Doesn’t seem very dangerous to me,” he scowled, returning to his seat with a flourish, “Just a shitty brat who needs someone to keep him and his fucked-up genes in line.”

There was a long moment of silence as Levi watched small drops of Eren’s blood drip onto the marble floor, providing a horribly sharp contrast between the two colors. He forced himself to watch it fall, forced himself to realize that he was the one responsible for it.

“So, you’re saying you would take full charge of him during his time as a Scout?” Zackly asked, breaking some of the tension in the air, “Would you kill him if he ever becomes a threat to Humanity?”

“Without a doubt.” It was a lie, of course, but he made sure it was a damn good one.

“Very well then. There will be a short recess as the Commanders, the jury, and I discuss the final outcome of this trial. The rest of you are free to go.”

There was some outraged sputtering from across the floor, but it was quickly drowned out by the scraping of chairs and the sound of hurried footsteps as 90% of the room tried to get into the foyer for (hopefully) the last time.

Everyone seemed to steer clear of Levi, except for the gaggle of brats who were trying to subtly comfort him. Hell, even Murder-Scarf had given him a small nod, and it was quite appreciated that she didn’t attack him for the show he had just put on. 

None of them said anything as they sat clustered around a table, exchanging various looks of concern or unease. The 104th was making good use of their near-telepathy, and they had been nice enough to include the captain in it, although he wasn’t nearly as proficient in the silent language comprised of facial twitches and slight nods. He wasn’t quite sure about any of the specific details, but he gathered that they were speaking wordlessly about their thoughts and opinions from what had happened in the past few hours.

He wasn’t really aware of how much time passed while they sat there, but it certainly felt far too long for his tastes. To be fair, that was probably just the anxiety talking, because he knew that even if it was only a few minutes of being locked out, he still would have thought that it was dragging on.

When the doors did finally reopen, nobody went into the courtroom. Instead, the people who had been inside came out to them, moving to stand in the massive doorway. The foyer fell quiet, a slight tension settling into the air as they anxiously awaited the announcement that was sure to come.

“After a lengthy discussion, and an even longer voting period,” Zackly glared briefly at the Military Police’s Commander before continuing. “A conclusion has been reached.”

If the bastard kept pausing for dramatic effect, Levi swore he was gonna strangle him.

“There were 10 votes in favor of a guilty verdict.” 

Shit, was that a good number or a bad one? How many votes were there supposed to be total? He mentally kicked himself for not paying more attention.

“However, there were 13 on the side an innocent one, with one member choosing to stay neutral. Therefore, I hereby adjudicate that…” (Levi didn’t bother listening to the rest, since it was probably just legal bullshit.)

It… worked?! Had they actually done it?! Was he dreaming, about to wake up somewhere and face his surely horrible reality? No, the stinging cut of his fingernails into his palms disproved that theory. It was real, then, and a surge of unstable emotion came crashing through him, mostly relief, but also sheer fucking excitement and even joy, with hints of something savagely victorious.

They did it. They had fucking won.

Eren… he was going to be okay. He was going to be alive and safe, and suddenly that was the only thing that he cared about. 

Maybe someday he would forgive him. Maybe Levi would be able to forgive himself, too.

So long as Eren was alive, it didn’t matter how much he hated him.

‘ _I refuse to lose you ever again, Birdbrain._ ’


	17. Chapter no. 17 (may it go down in history as the purest form of hurt/comfort)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's a bit shorter than intended, but let me tell you that it checked off literally every box i had for this chapter. There's a lotta hurt, some slight possessiveness, an appearance from Clara, (debating whether or not to mentally pronounce it as Clae-ra or Clah-rah, the Latin pronunciation is the former, I believe, but I like how whimsical the latter sounds) and then a shit ton of fucking fluff, you won't fucking believe how much I managed to stuff in here.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -Descriptions of torture(the bad kind) and emotional manipulation
> 
> -References to slurs and other derogatory phrases
> 
> -mentions of injuries, blood, pain etc
> 
> -some really big words that I had to use google for
> 
> -Mushy gushy ~*~feelings~*~
> 
> -so. much. fucking. cute shit!! at the end tho, gotta get thru the heavy stuff first.
> 
> -as is now customary: cussing!! all hail the king of no-no words, Levi fuckin' Ackermann

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *slams coffee mug on the floor like Thor* ANOTHER!! only 1 day apart, no less! I mean, I'm up at 5:09 AM posting this because I've been writing all night, but let's just ignore that, shall we? Besides, I'm rather happy with this chapter, even though it's not even 4k words ;-;.
> 
> Completely unrelated, but Biden got sworn in today, did a whole bunch of very good shit, so *insert crab emojis here*. Favorite part was Katy Perry singing Firework, that was fucking ICONIC, I wanted to cry. 2014 me was LIVING.

Hange came up to him sometime before they started getting ready to return to Headquarters. The snowstorm had lessened up considerably, and it was even starting to melt in the oddly warm afternoon sun. He was more than slightly reluctant to leave Eren’s side, even if he wasn’t actually in the same room as him. (Mikasa hadn’t let him in, which as much as he completely understood, it still ticked him off.)

They had pulled him out to one of the unnaturally well-kept parks, and the pair began wandering around in a snow-dusted hedge maze for privacy as the scientist talked his ear off about what was going to happen now that Eren was technically part of his squad. He didn’t really listen to any of it, but still nodded so that he seemed like he was paying attention. Unfortunately, it only worked for about 10 minutes or so, because Hange ended up noticing his uninterested expression.

“Listen, Levi,” they sighed, slowing their pace slightly, “I’m sorry if this whole didactic business isn’t piquant enough for your horribly miniscule attention span, but I hope you know that I’m just trying to help. I figured that you could use a distraction right now.”

He squinted at them for a moment, trying to process whatever the fuck their thesaurus-izing ass had just said, “You’re really pulling out the vocab right now, Shitty Glasses?”

“I don’t have the faintest idea of what you mean.” The scientist started examining a thawing leaf on one of the hedges very closely. “You know extremely well that I’m always this loquacious and verbose! I only get so many words in this life, and I want to ensure that they’re collectively as high-quality as I possibly can!”

“Mm, must be why you talk so much. Now are you going to tell me what you’re avoiding, or am I gonna have to force it out of you?”

They froze, then sighed quietly, with a slight whisper of “Damn it!”. Levi just continued to stare at them expectantly.

“I’m not supposed to tell you until we get back to Headquarters, Erwin said so.”

“What, you think I’m gonna tattle or something?” He arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at them. “We’re alone, he won’t know unless either of us tells him.”

“It’s not that,” they sighed, avoiding his gaze, “He just doesn’t want you to do anything…irrational while we’re here.”

Oh, joy. Even after doing all that shit in the courtroom, Eyebrows _still_ didn’t fucking trust him to keep a level head at times? That was some serious bullshit. Levi swore to hide his crochet hooks the next time he had the chance.

“The fuck you mean by that?”

Hange didn’t say anything, still uncomfortably fidgeting with the leaf in their hands.

“Fine, Four-Eyes, I promise not to react ‘irrationally’ or whatever. Just spit it out already, I can tell that you want to.”

“Are you completely sure you want to know?” they tore their leaf into small pieces before letting the scraps flutter to the ground, “I mean, it’s uh, not…very, um, well, you won’t like it, that’s for sure.”

That was a little concerning, but Levi nodded nonetheless.

“Alright, there’s really no way around it. Well, there is, but anyways,” the scientist shrunk away slightly, still averting their eyes from his, “I maybeeeee found out that they sorta kinda, uh… tortured... him? Eren, I mean.”

“So? I already knew that, he had some pretty bad scrapes and bruises. Pisses me off, yeah, but I can’t really do anything about it.”

“No, Levi, you don’t understand.” Their eyes finally snapped up to his, gaze undecipherable and slightly terrified. “They _tortured him_ tortured him. Badly, and in more ways than just physical.”

He sucked in a breath, feeling like he had just been punched in the stomach. “Wha'd’you mean ‘more than just physical’?”

“They- fuck- I…I heard one of them say some really fucked up shit about him and…” They swallowed thickly, eyes dropping back to the floor. “uh, about him and you. Mikasa too, but not as much. Walls, Levi, I could hear his screaming through the entire dungeon. And there was so much blood when I got there and I- I couldn’t stop them…”

No. Fuck, oh Walls-damned fucking FUCK, just- no. Hell. Fucking. _No_. Anything but that.

Levi couldn’t stop the rush of sheer rage that coursed through his veins, pumping him full of adrenaline and the urge to fight whatever sick bastards had dared to fucking touch Eren, _his_ Eren.

“ _What_ ,” he growled, voice becoming dangerously low and icy as his fingers flexed into fists, “did they _fucking_ say, Hange?”

“It’s uh… It’s not important?” they tried, shrinking under the captain’s piercingly pissed-off gaze.

“Oh, I think it’s _very_ fucking important, Shitty Glasses.”

The scientist cringed back even more, attempting to put distance between themselves and the extremely terrifying and angry Levi. He didn’t let them, and stepped forwards again as they hesitated.

“K, so please don’t kill the messenger, which is me, of course, but uh… well, the person was talking about how you, er, were just using him for…things. They called him some... _choice_ words that I’d really rather not repeat. And, uh, it was pretty clear that that wasn’t the first time it had happened either.” Hange inhaled shakily, standing up slightly straighter as they continued. “Eren kept trying to fight back, but every time he did anything even remotely rebellious, they’d pull out more of his feathers or make cuts at his shoulders, like… like they were trying to cut off his wings. He can’t heal as quickly as he should in this state, and I was so scared that they’d bleed him to death.” 

The word gate had been opened, and the scientist was slipping into a panicked rant. 

“He probably thinks right now that you don’t care about him, that it was all a lie and that you only pretend to want him around to mess with him. I mean, that was some pretty textbook brainwashing, and if it’s been happening every day since you went to see him, then I don’t think even Eren can fight that long. Oh, and then there was the whole trial thing, where you convinced everyone that you wanted to kill him, so that’s probably had a serious effect on his mental state. Who knows if he’ll ever forgive you again! The human brain is such a moldable thing, isn’t it? I should shut up right now, because you look like you’re about to stab me in the throat, but don’t you want to go take care of him? I can see it in the way you’re standing, like you’re about to run off, truly fascinating!! Your brain’s been pretty changed too, apparently. Crazy what love does to people, considering it’s just a rush of different chemicals. Ooh, I bet that I could replicate it in my lab some day! Imagine that, love in a bottle, ready to make you feel positively over the moon about someone!!”

Hange dissolved into unintelligible giggles, even as tears of pain dripped down their madly grinning cheeks. Walls, if Levi didn’t have exactly one thing on his mind at that moment, he wouldn’t be able to decide between punching them or joining them in their hysteria.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He doesn’t remember running, nor does he remember arriving outside of the room that Eren was sitting in, presumably with all of his friends inside. In fact, the next thing he knew, he was panting and standing in front of the door, absolutely shaking with an emotion that he can’t quite name. Whatever it was, it was feral and completely overwhelming, overriding all other thoughts in his brain as he practically tore the door open. 

“Levi!! I don’t think he’s-”

“ _Move_ , Mikasa. Get out of my fucking way, that’s an order. Actually, I want all of you out. Right now.”

The younger Scouts were a bit taken aback by the sheer authority in the captain’s voice, but none of them moved, clearly hesitant to leave their probably terrified friend.

“I won’t hesitate to pull rank on all of you, or have you forgotten that we’re literally right next to a fucking courthouse? Now _please_ , for the love of whatever the fuck you lot believe in, get out of this fucking room.”

A couple of them made their way towards the exit, but they were stopped by Mikasa, who had put her hands on her hips, assuming a protective stance as she blocked the doorway, as well as his view into the room because she was standing on her tiptoes.

“Listen, I understand that you’re nervous, but he’s fragile right now and he needs time. You didn’t want or mean to hurt him, we all know that, but the fact remains that you did, and that’s really fucking with his head.” She said, voice remaining as calm as possible as she held her ground.

“Nervous?! _Nervous_?!?! He got fucking _tortured_ and it’s _my fucking fault_ , and you think I’m _nervous_?” He laughed, but there wasn’t a single hint of amusement in the sound, just a hollow, empty pain. “No, you listen, brat. You know fully goddamn well that I would never want to do anything to hurt Eren, emotionally, physically, mentally, whatever. Just let me in to fucking _apologize_ , and then I’ll get out of your hair, forever, if he wants.”

She looked rather shocked at his sudden display of emotion. All of them did, actually, and there was a moment of tense silence before Mikasa finally relented, stepping past him to walk away from the room. The rest of the Scouts followed, muttering uneasily about how well they thought things were going to go.

Levi stepped into the small room, closing the door behind him with a soft click before turning around to face the shifter, who was sitting on a bed near the back wall.

_Fuck_ , he looked so damn _broken_.

The captain practically ran at the poor boy, knocking him onto the mattress as his arms wrapped around his mildly-warm torso, face burying itself into the brunette’s shoulder. Eren squawked in surprise, clearly not expecting the sudden hug.

“Don’t talk. Please, just let me have this for a while longer.”

There was a slight shake from beneath him, and he realized that Eren was crying. A horrible, twisty feeling ran down his body, terrified that the shifter was crying because of him. His arms tightened, pulling him closer to his chest as an attempt to show that, yes, Levi _did_ actually care about his wellbeing. Walls, he cared so fucking much, and now Eren had been hurt because of it, because of _him_.

“I know, Eren, I know I fucked up. And I’m so fucking sorry.” He pulled his head back slightly and moved one of his hands so that he could gently wipe the tears off of the brunette’s too-pale cheeks. “Hange told me everything. How they mentally fucked with you, tortured you, fucking _abused_ you. I- I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help, they wouldn’t let me. Please, believe me when I say that I tried my fucking _hardest_ to protect you.”

Eren shuddered, going uncharacteristically still at the mention of what had happened in the underground prison.

“ ‘M not gonna lose you again, Eren. I can’t. Whatever the fuck they told you, whatever lies they made up, I swear on everything I have, none of it’s true.” 

His hand came up again, this time so that he could run his fingers over the still-healing cut on his neck, the one that Levi had made earlier. Eren flinched back from the touch, like Levi was going to hurt him again. That was probably what he thought, too, that Levi was lying so that he could finish what he had started in the courtroom.

“I didn’t ever mean to hurt you,” he whispered, reburying his face into Eren’s neck, “Erwin… he wanted to prove that you aren’t uncontrollable, that you’re not a threat to Humanity. I didn’t want to, but nothing else was working. Walls, I was just so fucking scared of the possibility of them killing you. You can hate me if you want to, hell, I fully expect you to never want to talk to me again, but as long as I protected you, I’m okay with it. I’ll understand if you can’t bear to be around me for the rest of my life, I just want you to know that I’m never going to let anyone hurt you ever again, got that?”

Levi realized that he was probably saying and promising way too much for his own good, but promises were addicting, especially if he was making them to Eren. He wanted to pour his whole fucking heart out right then and there, while he still had the chance, but it felt like too much of a guilt trip. Telling someone who may or may not hate you that you’re in love with them? Yeah, definitely not the best move.

Regardless, there was an odd sense of peace and contentment as he laid there, arms wrapped around the boy he had fallen for quite some time ago. Even if he hated him for eternity, he would always fucking love this idiot. And he was perfectly okay with that. It didn’t matter if Eren loved him back, or if he was even willing to forgive him, Levi knew that nothing could change his mind, or, more importantly, his heart. Walls, that sounded sappy, but it was completely true.

Eren interrupted his thoughts with one of his curious little trill noises, and Levi opened his eyes to see that they were both being cast with a warm glow. His head tilted up, and just as he suspected, Clara was shining happily above his head.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of shit that happened while you were gone, but that can wait until later, if you’re willing to hear it, that is.”

The shifter nodded slowly, giving him the barest hint of a smile. Walls, Levi had missed that fucking smile so much. Clara glowed brighter, seeming to match his shift in mood. Interesting, he’d have to tell Hange about that later.

“Oh, right, sorry. Clara, Eren. Eren, Clara.” 

Tentatively, Eren reached his hand towards the softly glowing orb above the captain’s head. She (Levi decided that calling her an ‘it’ was sorta weird, since she clearly had some kind of self-awareness.) didn’t burn him, and instead spread along his feathered arm, causing him to yelp in surprise. He looked like he was being slowly eaten by a glowy swarm of ants as Clara covered both of his wings, plus most of his chest.

“The fuck? This hasn’t happened before,” Levi said, gently loosening his arms (he wasn’t ready to fully let go, too scared that everything would be over if he did) so that he could pull back more and look at what was happening.

Clara glowed brighter for a few moments, before slowly coming off of the brunette’s body, reforming into her original, vaguely orb-like shape.

Holyyyyyyyyyy shitttttttt. Eren had human arms again.

After a quick inspection, Levi determined that there wasn’t a single feather on him, much to his surprise. There were, however, a shit ton of bruises, scrapes, cuts, and even a few burn marks. Fuck, he really wanted to hurt whichever asshole had made those deep slices around his shoulders.

“Well fuck me sideways,” he muttered, looking between Eren’s now-featherless arms and the wisp that had fixed them, “I didn’t know she could do that. Thank you, Clara.”

Eren giggled, a real, honest giggle, and Levi swore he nearly died for a moment.

“Wait, does that mean she fixed your throat too? Can you talk?”

“Ye…ah…?” he mumbled, voice scratchy and raw, but still entirely his. Levi fucking loved his voice, even like this. “Yeah, I can talk. A little.”

Oh Walls. The captain wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

On one hand, it was fucking amazing that Eren might get the chance to heal properly, and that was one of his top priorities at the moment. Unfortunately, it also meant that the rejection and hate would probably feel that much worse, because it would be verbalized instead of vaguely gestured and trilled.

“Well that’s good,” he said, settling on a decently neutral answer, “you can talk to your friends now, once they come back inside. Sorry for scaring them off.”

The shifter shook his head. “Don’t wanna talk to them yet. I wanna talk to _you_ , Levi.”

Fuck, was the idiot trying to kill him? He supposed it was to be expected, considering everything he had done. Besides, there were worse ways to die.

“Fine by me, say whatever you want.”

Eren licked his lips nervously, inhaling as he prepared himself for what was probably going to be a rather long statement or three. Levi watched the action helplessly, eyes tracking his tongue as it darted out for a brief second. (When had he started noticing things like that??)

“Sit up, it’ll be easier.” He let go reluctantly, allowing the brunette to get into an upright position.

Levi debated whether or not he should continue hugging him once he was properly situated. Surprisingly, the decision was made for him, because Eren cautiously grabbed his wrists and pulled them around his waist. That was an invitation if he ever saw one, one that he gladly accepted.

“Don’t interrupt me, okay? I have a lot of stuff to say, and I don’t want to forget any of it.”

The captain nodded, pulling himself closer so that Eren didn’t have to strain his voice. Yup, it totally wasn’t because he was thoroughly enjoying the close proximity a little more than he should have.

“Um, so I’m not really sure where to start, but I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let them get to me like that, and if I had been just a little stronger, then maybe… maybe I’d be a little less scared of you right now. It’s stupid, I know. My instincts are telling me to run away from you because you hurt me and lied to me but… that’s not what happened, right? You didn’t lie about wanting to protect me? The last 2 months weren’t faked? You actually…care, about me? You don’t think I’m just a shitty brat? And all the stuff with the knife and the-” he shivered, hand absently trailing towards the cut on his neck, “-the trial, that was the fake part? You don’t actually want to kill me, right, Levi? Please answer, it’s driving me crazy.”

Levi tugged him closer, selfishly loving the fact that he wasn’t being pushed away.

“Walls, Eren, of course not. Those promises I made, to make sure you were safe, those are some of the realest things I’ve ever said. And yeah, you can be a pain in my ass sometimes, but I wouldn’t change that for the world. You’re not at fault if you’re uncomfortable being around me right now, I did something really fucking horrible, so don’t blame yourself.”

“Oh…” Eren looked at him, eyes gaining back some of their regular sparkle as he smiled, a genuine, special, sunbeam smile that made Levi stop breathing for a moment or two. “Then just one more thing I want you to do. It’s pretty stupid, so it’s okay if you don’t want to.”

“Anything.” (He managed to stop himself from adding ‘for you’, he was already acting disgustingly sappy enough as is.)

“Can you uh…” he laughed nervously, pulling his green eyes away from Levi’s. “This is gonna sound weird, but would it be okay if you proved to me that… I don’t know, I guess just prove that you really do care? Just to make that stupid doubt voice in my head shut up.”

Every damn time he thought Eren would quit trying to make his stupid heart stop beating, he managed to always prove him wrong.

He hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to interpret the question. Hell, he could just kiss him breathless right then and there, that sounded like a pretty great idea actually, but it would probably be too much, too fast. Besides, that was if he even liked Levi in that way in the first place, which he wasn’t too confident in believing.

Eventually, he decided on something that would probably say more than he’d ever be able to.

Carefully, he untied his borrowed cloak, before putting it around a very stunned and very flushed Eren. “It’s not technically mine, I borrowed it from Four-Eyes last night, but I think you get what I mean. Besides, I already gave you my other one, right? That makes us even, coat-brat.”

“You… read the book? You know? About the…thing?”

“Articulate as always, brat,” Levi smirked, gently flicking his forehead, “And yes, I read your weird seal book. That’s one of the things we can talk about when we’re back home, if you want to stick around me, that is.”

Eren huffed slightly, obviously pretending to be hurt by the oh so _drastic_ attack on his skull, before positively beaming and tackling Levi in a hug of his own. Fuck, he had really fucking missed feeling the shifter’s face pressed into his neck, thick eyelashes tickling slightly at his skin.

“Means you’re _my_ Levi now, you know that, right?” he mumbled, words causing the captain to turn bright red.

“Shut up, Birdbrain.”

He felt Eren relax into his chest, evidently growing tired from all the strain and stress of the day. 

The brunette hummed sleepily, voice becoming spacey as he drifted into unconsciousness. 

“ _Your_ Birdbrain now...”

‘ _Wouldn’t want it any other way, brat_ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my STARS AND STONES LET THE FLUFF FESTIVAL BEGIN!!! Fucking finally, all that angst was getting hard to write, so hopefully i can get it, hold on lemme use my Thanos voice, _perfectly balanced, as all things should be._
> 
> (also voice of doubt says im so sorry if it felt a bit rushed, I needed fluff before I started crying. It seemed to flow so well when I was writing it, but as I reread it, I found that apparently it sucks ass and _doesnt_ give me the thrills and butterflies I had while writing it. Guess it does not spark joy, oh well.)


	18. Chapter 18 (alternately titled Levi's Existential Crisis)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essentially just-
> 
> Eren, down on one knee: Levi, I fucking love you, dumbass
> 
> Levi: But, like, do you like me or LIKE me? Really unclear here, I dunno....
> 
> Oh, and Eren's a fucking plant now, gotta get that yummy yummy photosynthesis right??
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -theres no...serious warnings, really
> 
> -itsy bitsy mention of injury, like 3 words lmao
> 
> -secondhand embarrassment to the MAX
> 
> -there is. so much fluff. gotdamb...
> 
> -you may very much want to yell at Levi!! This is perfectly normal, I literally did yell at my laptop multiple times. Not my proudest moment.
> 
> -as always, cussing, except most of it is Levi yelling at himself for once

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, you all thought this was going to be that easy?! NOPE! Not a chance in hell, Captain Oblivious can't even handle himself, much less another person liking him. But, I mean, Cute Eren is sorta obvious soooo... we'll see where that goes!
> 
> Enjoy this 5k bit of fluff to make up for the shorter one last time, with a weeeee little bit of plot hints mixed in. (I say "plot hints", but honestly I came up with a few of them on the spot lmaoooo)

If Levi could've had one thing in his entire life, it would be to let Eren sleep on his chest forever.

To be fair, that was probably just the post-adrenaline crash loopiness talking, but he would have loved it regardless of the circumstances. Walls, he was just so fucking _warm_ and _comfortable_ , even with his battered state, and Levi was thoroughly enjoying every second of contact that he could get. It was the closest he had come to feeling genuinely happy in a long, long time, not to mention the fact that he could watch Eren sleep. Not in a creepy way, of course, (okay, it was maybe a little weird) he just liked seeing the shifter look so relaxed and peaceful, because Walls knew that he fucking deserved it.

Some idle, blissed-out part of his serotonin-addled brain was telling him to trace his fingers over the brunette’s soft-looking facial features, to memorize every inch of that unfairly gorgeous face of his. He managed to stop himself, if only just barely, by reminding his stupid thoughts that Eren needed the sleep, and that it was better not to disturb him. Still, he really fucking wanted to.

Unfortunately, they ended up getting disturbed anyways, because it was only, like, 5 minutes later that the door opened to reveal the face of a very concerned and ticked-off Mikasa. She looked like she was about to yell something, but was stopped when Levi gestured to the boy laying on him with a barely audible whisper of, “He’s sleeping, shut up.”

A couple of the other Scouts managed to look over their friend’s head and into the room, before bursting into either quiet gasps or muffled snickers. Levi made a mental promise to make them strip-clean the main room later.

One of them, Sweater, gently pushed past the suddenly miffed girl blocking the doorway before stopping a meter or two from the bed, mostly because the captain glared at him hard enough for it to act as a physical barrier. His not-boyfriend followed a second or two later, only to be met with the same look of ‘ _get any closer and I will dropkick your tall asses out of the fucking Interior_ ’.

The taller brat looked questioningly between Eren and Clara, who was still gently bobbing over Levi’s head. He pointed to the wisp, then tapped his arm, evidently trying to ask if she had managed to get rid of Eren’s weird half-bird state. The captain graced it with a nod.

Levi was still wary of those two brats in particular, even though they had slightly grown on him over time, like some sort of weird fungus. He shuddered at the thought. Still, there was still something a little…off, about the pair. They always seemed to know either too much or too little, not to mention the fact that in the brief time that they had spent with Eren, they had both had rather odd reactions to his presence. 

In Sweater’s case, he had acted almost protective of him, not nearly as much or as overtly as Murder-Scarf, but he had a sort of doting-mother-figure air about him. He seemed like the type to be quiet and reserved most of the time, which, as Levi later discovered, he pretty much was. Yet, for some reason, he had opened up to the shapeshifter almost immediately, and had volunteered to do various things for him before anyone else even got the chance to. He was also one of the most concerned people after Eren had disappeared into the fog, which was only intensified after he got arrested.

Reindeer, on the other hand, was a bit rougher with him. If Beanpole was a mother-ish figure, then he was definitely more of a big-brother sort of presence. Granted, it seemed like he acted that way around the rest of his teammates, but it was a bit different where Eren was concerned. Levi could distinctly recall him praising the shifter after dropping all those titans during the breach crisis, and he had seemed rather guard-like over him on that day, too.

Ignoring his (hopefully just) paranoia, he rolled his eyes and mouthed a silent ‘What do you two brats want?’. They exchanged brief, nervous glances, before Sweater stepped closer slightly. Levi tolerated it, but only because he didn’t seem like he had any weird intentions. In fact, he seemed almost gentle, an odd contrast with his tendency to be a total klutz.

The younger Scout gestured to Eren again, then towards himself. 

“I can help, I think. Would you mind if I took him for a couple seconds?” he whispered, keeping his voice as low as possible so that he didn’t disturb the sleeping shifter.

Ah, so the brat was clearly trying to make a joke, and a shitty one, at that. Did he seriously think that the captain would just pass him over, right after he literally just got him back?! Plus, he was sleeping, so it was better not to move him around for the time being.

Levi scoffed quietly. “Fuck no. I doubt you could help him out of this weird…whatever, and even if you can, you can do it without taking him anywhere.”

Reindeer gently grabbed his friend’s shoulder, giving him a slight tug towards the door. “Bert, c’mon, we shouldn’t even be considering this. Let’s just go, alright? He’ll get better eventually.”

“No, Rei, I’m not giving up on him, you should know that by now.” He turned his attention back to Levi, who was looking between them, evidently a bit confused and rather curious about whatever they were talking about, “I promise, it’s incredibly easy, nothing dangerous or harmful. It should, if I’m right, give him a chance to heal, which I’d assume you want.”

Well, it was pretty hard to agree with that sentiment. Still, Levi was suspicious by nature, so he figured that he should at least ask a few more questions, just to be safe. Quietly, of course, he didn’t want to wake the still-passed out boy clinging to his chest.

“What do you want to do with him, exactly?”

The sweatered boy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, eyes dropping to the floor. “Ummm, I was thinking, maybe…put him in the sun for a while?”

Oh Walls, they were both weirder than he thought, and apparently dumber, too.

“What, do you think he’s gonna grow back like a fucking tree?” Levi scoffed, barely noticing the slightly shorter blonde flinch. Weird, but whatever.

“N-not like a tree, really. More like, uh, a titan? Like how they eat the sunshine or whatever? I think the Section Commander said something about how titans use the sun as energy, and if Eren’s part titan…maybe it’ll help?”

Whomever/whatever controlled humanity’s general intelligence must have been smiling on Beanpole, because he had actually managed to produce a good idea for the first time in the last 5 minutes. Levi was nearly shocked.

“You’re lucky I’m too worried to say no, brat,” he sighed, gently adjusting the shifter on so that he could carry him comfortably, “But I’m going to bring him out, because you’d probably drop him. Open the door for me.”

Betholdt nodded in agreement, then walked over to the door so that he could hold it open for his friend and the captain, who both made their way outside.

Eren stirred at the sudden movement, eyes blinking open to stare groggily at the world around him. Levi watched intently as he started to look at his surroundings, before eventually noticing the sun. He grinned sleepily at it, then up at the captain, who was slightly panicking because holy _fuck_ that drowsy smile was an absolutely beautiful thing to see.

“Lemmedownn ri’noww…” he mumbled, words slurring together slightly as he adjusted to being awake again.

“You can’t even fucking stand right now, idiot.”

He pouted, gently pushing at his overprotective captor. “Leviiiiiiii let me downnnnn, I can stand just fine.”

Well, he only had so much willpower against hearing his name be said like that, especially from Eren, so he gently set the shifter’s feet onto the floor. As expected, he stumbled a little bit, but somehow managed to stay upright. Levi was almost disappointed, it would have been fun to catch him, mostly so that he could berate him with a well-deserved “I told you so.”

A few of the other Scouts noticed the slight commotion, and started heading towards them at a nearly alarming pace. Eren ignored them. Instead, he practically sprinted to the center of the small courtyard, where there was a small patch of well-maintained grass that was soaked in after-blizzard sunlight. Hell, there was still some fucking snow on parts of it, something Levi noticed when the shifter decided to flop backwards onto a patch of the stuff.

“Oi, Birdbrain,” he asked, dodging the concerned brats as they tried to swarm him, before making his way over to where Eren was now laying, “the fuck are you doing? Are you trying to catch a cold?”

“Leviiiii, move, you’re blocking the sun!”

As always, Eren had truly _impeccable_ prioritizing skills. It would have almost been funny, if the captain wasn’t so concerned for him already. Still, he complied, mostly because he was naturally inclined to do whatever the brunette wanted him to.

“Mmmmmmm, warm…” 

He yawned, and it looked vaguely reminiscent of how a cat would stretch before curling up to sleep. Oh great, now Levi was imagining the blissfully ignorant boy with feline ears, what had his life fucking come to? Fuck, now he was actually curling in on himself, and yes, it looked almost exactly like how a cat would, but human. And, y’know, he was in a rapidly melting pile of snow, which should have been more concerning.

“What’s he doing?” someone asked from behind him, and he came to the (rather embarrassing) realization that he’d been too distracted by the adorable display to notice that all of the fucking brats had snuck up on him.

“Fuck if I know, he’s always been-”

He was cut off by a sudden hissing sound, and he turned to see that the shifter had started steaming slightly. Thank fuck it had actually worked, the covered bruises under his coat had been painful just to look at.

“He’s smoking? Why’s he smoking, is he on fire?! Oh my Walls, we just saved his life and now he’s on fire?!?”

Levi sighed, glaring at Eren’s slightly panicking sister. “Calm down, Murder-Scarf. He just does this sometimes, it means he’s healing. Should be done in a few minutes or so.”

“Oh,” she said, voice going quiet as she intently watched her brother do his…whatever the fuck he was doing. “Is this, uh, a titan thing?”

“Not sure, really. You’d have to ask Four-Eyes about it, all I know is that he gets better when he does stuff like this. Advanced healing, probably.” He glanced at her, debating just how much he should tell her. Part of him wanted to hold it over her, to be as smug as he pleased about the fact that he knew more about this side of Eren than she did, but he figured that she had a right to know. “He does a lot of freaky shit, actually. Once told me that he can see in the dark, as well as smell, hear, and feel stuff that regular people can’t.”

“Was that why he could find you in the fog?”

“Yep. And everywhere else, honestly. Sometimes I think he has some kind of tracker on me.”

She snorted, and there was a quiet pout of “I do nottttt” from below them. Levi rolled his eyes, only partly believing what Eren said. Hell, he figured he could probably hide anywhere in Stohess and the shifter would still manage to find him. It was sort of comforting, knowing that if either of them ever got lost, or, Walls forbid, _taken_ , that Eren would be there as fast as non-humanly possible.

They sat there for a while, with the brunette sunbathing happily as his friends argued about whether or not it was fair for him to have all those advantages while he was in their squad. Levi knew it wasn’t a serious debate, they would never even consider kicking him out or anything of the sort. He was pretty sure that if any of them tried, Murder-Scarf and Bookworm (as well as potentially the Weirdo Pair) would literally kick their asses, either verbally, physically, or both.

“What about you, Captain? You’re both his friend and his superior now, so should he be able to spar against us when he gets his training back on course?”

Oh. That was a good question, but his mind centered on the exact wrong thing, which was the fact that Ponytail had just referred to him as Eren’s “friend”. Was he even qualified for that position? They had gotten really close over the last few months, sure, but what even constituted as “friendly” between them? Depending on each other for survival in a forest? No, that was more out of necessity than anything else. What about after they were back in the Walls, when they had literally shared a bed, along with other things? That was probably the closest they had come, but it was so damn short that it never managed to get to a stable point.

Hell, Levi barely fucking knew what “friendship” was. His last experience with it had ended…well, it had ended up being literally fatal, not to mention emotionally scarring. There was also Four-Eyes and Eyebrows, but he wasn’t sure if they counted either. They certainly considered _him_ as their friend, although he had no idea why. He wasn’t sure that he even deserved their attention, and the only reason that they had bothered getting to know him in the first place was because of his titan-killing skills.

But Eren? Walls, he had literally just fucking _claimed_ him not even an hour ago, but that wasn’t really any sort of friendly gesture. No, Levi had done it because he was fucking selfish, because he wanted to keep the pretty boy all to himself. He had known that getting attached was a bad idea, and now he had gone and caught fucking feelings for him, despite his brain constantly telling him not to.

His mind drifted back to their interaction from earlier, when Eren had let Levi essentially give him his metaphorical freedom. Sweet Maria, he had literally called himself Levi’s, like he fucking owned him or something. But did he mean that in an “I trust you to protect me” way, or something else? Had he admitted to liking the captain, in a more than platonic way?

No. That just wasn’t possible. Despite the fact that being with him would have been fucking _wonderful_ , Levi refused to let himself believe that anyone, much less _Eren_ , would ever end up _liking_ him. Walls knew that he could never be that lucky, not with his horrible track record anyways.

“Uhm, Captain?” Ponytail waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him back to reality. 

Ah, right. No time for depression spirals, those were supposed to be had in the middle of the night, with copious amounts of cleaning supplies in his general vicinity.

“Oh, you expected an actual answer?” he asked, completely deadpan as he tried to hide his temporary existential crisis, “If he wants to fight you brats, he can. Just expect to get your asses handed to you.”

“Didn’t he-”

“Shut the fuck up Kirchstein, this isn’t about me.”

A couple of them tried unsuccessfully to hide their snickers. Levi didn’t even have the energy to glare at them.

“Anyways, where the fuck is Eyebrows?” he huffed, not-so-subtly trying to change the subject, “I want to get back to Headquarters, this damn city is making my skin crawl.”

‘Speak of the [fucking] devil, and he may appear.’ Apparently, that applied to manipulative commanders too. Oh, and annoying scientists. They went hand in hand, really. Maybe both of them were actually demons sent from hell to torture Levi. Now that was a PROPER religious conspiracy theory.

Erwin poked his head through the small archway that led into the square courtyard. There were four of them, one on each side of the ring of weird, inn-like buildings. (Levi thought that it would have been real fucking nice to know that there were not only one, but multiple of the sectioned-off boarding rooms. Instead, they’d had to ride there in the middle of the fucking night, which was noticeably starting to take its toll on all of them.) 

“Hange saw smoke over here, is everything all right?” he called, before his gaze finally landed on Eren, who was steaming on the floor.

The scientist themself screeched and ran over to them, clearly panicking over the admittedly odd scene in front of them. “WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KILL HIM?!? WE LITERALLY JUST SAVED HIM!!!”

“Oh sweet fuckin’ Maria, Four-Eyes! We didn’t kill him, he’s fucking healing himself.”

Thankfully, that seemed to placate them, for a few seconds at least, before the distress was replaced by an immediate excitement and curiosity. They bent down to examine the slowly vaporizing brunette on the floor, much to both his and Levi’s sudden alarm. 

The captain was about to tell them to fuck off, but he’d barely even managed to form a threat in his head before Clara popped into existence. (or had she always been there? Levi hadn’t really been paying attention to whether or not the wisp was following him around, even though he probably should have been.) She zipped across the approximate meter or so between him and Eren, flashing protectively in an attempt to ward off the shifter’s potential attacker.

It somehow worked, but only because Hange fixated on Clara instead of their original subject, who was still laying down as he blinked at them in confusion.

“Oh!! That’s absolutely fascinating!” They reached their hand towards the glowing orb, only to be met with another, almost irritated flash of light. “Levi, did you make it do that?! And how did Eren manage to de-transform?!? Gahhh, I have so many questions!!” 

Levi groaned, fruitlessly attempting to try and make Clara disappear before anyone unaware of her existence saw. “You can ask them later, Shitty-Glasses, but only if you leave Eren the fuck alone. Now Eyebrows, please tell me you found us a way back that won’t draw a fucking mob. I don’t think riding through the streets in broad daylight is gonna be very good for our _covertness_.”

“Ah, yes, that’s actually one of the reasons I was coming here in the first place.” The commander tore his gaze away from Hange and Clara, whom he was watching with an intense fascination. “The ever-so-kind Military Police decided to let us borrow a few of their wagons and horses, so we can return to Headquarters without drawing too much attention.”

“Yeah, more like they don’t want us creating more of a scandal for them to clean up,” Buzzcut muttered, and Levi was almost proud that he had managed to instill at least some of his minorly rebellious, ‘you’re allowed to talk back to your superior officers’ type of attitude into some of the younger Scouts.

“Yes, I’d imagine that’s part of their motivation, but it’s a useful offer, regardless. Now, with that being said, is everyone ready to leave?”

If it wasn’t for the sunbathing boy on the floor, Levi would have fucking run to wherever those wagons were. 

“The sooner I get out of this fucking city, the better,” he grumbled, shuddering slightly at the thought of staying in the unnaturally perfect place. Oh, if only the doll-faced citizens knew the death and suffering that dwelled beneath their expensively shod feet. “C’mon Birdbrain, you can finish pretending to be a chicken dinner at HQ.”

Eren squawked indignantly at the comparison, half-heartedly punching for the captain’s ankles. “I’m a falcon hawk, thank you very much. And is there any way I can ride outside of the wagons? I really don’t want to be in any dark, enclosed spaces right now, or ever again, really.”

Ah, shit. Levi mentally kicked himself for not considering the shifter’s feelings on the matter. Of course Eren wouldn’t want to be in small, dark places at the moment, not after the shit he had gone through. The captain himself was all too familiar with the sensation of suffocating claustrophobia, since it had plagued him for a solid year after he had started life on the surface. Well, that, combined with a general wariness of open places where he could see too much of the sky. Similarly, he had been freaked out about anywhere with too many people. Or places with too _little_ people. Fuck, that year had been really rough for him.

“It would be better if you stayed inside, since you’re already the center of attention today,” Erwin said, snapping him out of his thoughts, “But I suppose that if you truly don’t want to, or if it gives you a continued chance to heal, then I’ll allow it.”

The brunette looked incredibly grateful, and he finally sat up so that he could smile at the commander. Levi suppressed the wave of jealously that rushed through him, reminding himself that Eren had the right to unleash that sunbeam grin on whoever he wanted to. Still, he couldn’t help but think that it was supposed to be _Levi’s_ smile, reserved for making him and him alone feel euphorically dizzy.

Normally, he would have expected Eren to stand up immediately, since his request had been granted, but instead he paused and took the time to gently push away the wisp that was still protectively hovering above his chest. Levi could barely hear him whisper a quiet murmur of, “I’m fine, Clara, you can go back to your keeper now.” He decided not to mention it, they could always talk about that later if they wanted to.

It took a moment of concentration, but he eventually got the wisp to disappear again. Apparently, he was getting better at it, probably because he didn’t have to search as hard for feelings of contentment whenever Eren was nearby.

Hange pouted at the loss of their new friend/test subject, before standing up and heading back over to where Erwin was standing. Eren followed suit, which in turn prompted Levi to go after him, somewhat afraid of being more than a meter from the still slightly steaming shifter. The rest of the Scouts caught up after a bit of bickering, and soon all of them were following their commander in a manner that vas vaguely reminiscent of ducklings following their mother. Levi snorted internally at the comparison.

Apparently, the MP’s liked to make everyone except themselves as miserable as possible, so the wagons were nearly half of a fucking kilometer away. This, unfortunately, meant that they were subjected to multiple stares and shocked whispers from the people that they passed by. Hell, even the street sweepers seemed to be gossiping about them as they made their way through the backstreets of the city.

Everyone had formed a sort of protective bubble around Eren, especially Mikasa and Levi, the latter of which was barely stopping himself from wrapping an arm around the shifter’s waist to show everyone that he was fucking _his_ , whatever that meant. Instead, he settled for making the space between them as small as possible, and glaring at any stranger who came within 5 meters of the small group.

To say that he was shocked when he felt warm fingers interlace with his own was a giant fucking understatement. He was pretty sure that his heart actually stopped beating for at least two seconds as his panic response kicked in.

Normally, he would have immediately jumped away out of sheer reflex, but he was stopped when Eren gave him a brilliantly bright and wonderfully intoxicating smile. Neither of them said anything, but Levi had to fend off the traitorous flush that was slowly creeping up his neck.

‘ _This fucking idiot…_ ’ he thought, briefly flexing his fingers to make sure that he wasn’t hallucinating, ‘ _He’s just going to fucking HOLD HANDS with ME in fucking BROAD DAYLIGHT?! And he’s going to pretend like it’s a normal thing for us to do?! I knew he was nervous about this whole ordeal but Walls, he needs his head checked. To think that he would fucking grab onto ME for comfort…he’s more of a birdbrain than I thought._ ’ 

He continued to call the brunette more loving insults in his head, mostly because he was desperately trying to ignore the implications of what they were doing. Besides, he was more focused on making sure that nobody could see their now-conjoined hands. Walls only knew what kind of ideas that the brats would cook up if they saw, or worse, if _Hange_ noticed. They would most likely start crying and push them towards an altar or something. He shuddered at the thought, especially because he would probably have to explain to the clueless shifter what was going on, at which point he would probably get laughed at for even considering the idea. Damn, apparently he wasn’t even safe from heart-crushing rejection in his own head. Oh well.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

30 embarrassment-filled minutes later, they managed to get to wherever the MP’s kept their horses and shit. Levi knew that there was probably a proper name for it or whatever, but he really didn’t care at that moment, he was too preoccupied with trying to figure out how to separate himself from Eren without actually having to let go.

Unfortunately, the decision was made for him, because the shifter gently disentangled their fingers so that he could pet one of the horses that were attached to the wagon. The animal seemed to enjoy his presence, probably because it could loosely recognize a fellow non-human, even if he was disguised as one for the time being. Levi reminded himself that it was stupid to keep being jealous at random things that Eren paid attention to. First Eyebrows and now the horse, if he wasn’t careful, he was going to start saying dumb shit out loud instead of keeping the flashes of irritation to himself.

“Alright,” Erwin called, grabbing everyone’s attention with his customary clap, “The Section Commander, Captain, and I will take the left one, and a few of you can join us, if you’d like. The rest of you can ride in the other one. Eren, how would you like to go about this?”

The boy in question grinned, stepping back slightly.

“Oh no, don’t even think about it brat, that’s a fucking horrible idea,” Levi muttered, shooting him a warning glare as an attempt to stop him from even considering the possibility of changing forms.

He pouted, deflating slightly, before almost immediately bouncing back, this time with even _more_ determination glittering in his green eyes. 

“I know I can do it! And I won’t get stuck again, I promise.” He glanced over to Erwin, who was watching with interest. “Besides, wouldn’t it make some sort of statement that I’m in control of myself? That’s the impression we’re going for, right?”

Damn it, the brat had learned Eyebrows’s weak points too. At this rate, he’d be fucking unstoppable, with an entire fucking Regiment wrapped around his deceptively innocent little finger. Not that Levi was complaining, he had been the first one to get hooked like that.

“If you’re completely confident in your ability to both trigger and sustain it, then be my guest. Just try not to get separated, that would be rather unfortunate.”

Eren positively beamed. 

“Well I have everything I need, I think. Motivation, sunshine, my coat,” his eyes flitted over to Levi, who was shaking his head and sighing in exasperation, “and its holder! All set, but, uh, you all should probably move back some. Or I can, whatever.”

Walls, he was going to fucking strangle Birdbrain at this rate. How in the fuck could he just be so casually… _him_?! Embarrassingly honest, extremely talkative whenever he could be (in a pleasant way, thankfully, or maybe it had just stopped being annoying a long time ago), a little over the top, and not to mention completely, adorably idiotic at times. Right now was one of those times, actually.

There was a flash of light that Levi at least had the presence of mind to look away from the second before it happened. A moment later, Eren was still standing there, except he had changed into a deer, so he was now practically towering over all of them.

The younger scouts started _fawning_ (yeah, shitty joke, but Levi couldn’t resist the fact that he could finally come up with a good deer pun) over their friend almost immediately, crowding around him to get a closer look. It vaguely registered that they hadn’t actually seen Eren’s stag form before, only the bird one and its variants.

Of course, the shifter wasn’t about to turn down the chance to show off, so he stood there happily as his friends satisfied their curiosities. Hell, even Erwin looked impressed, not to mention the fact that Hange was practically bouncing at the commander’s side.

“Let’s go already, I’d like to get back to HQ sometime before sundown,” Levi sighed, gently pushing through the brats so that he could stand next to Eren again, “May I, Birdbrain?”

The currently elaphine shapeshifter pretended to consider it for a moment, then chuffed and nodded, antlers swaying slightly.

“Brat.” he muttered, even as he swung himself upwards so that he could perch himself on Eren’s back.

Part of him debated riding side-saddle, just for the theatrics of it all, but it was already going to be absurd enough that there was a fucking deer roaming the streets of the Interior, with a Scout captain on it, no less. But, then again, the point was to spread the word that the shifter wasn’t anything close to a "monster", so perhaps getting some rumors going would actually be helpful for once.

Oh, who was he kidding, he was only really doing this to give a giant “hey fuck you and your fucking opinions” to the Military Police, but it was a well-deserved one at that.

“Levi, don’t you want to ride inside the wagon?” Erwin asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re the one who agreed to putting on a show,” he replied, rolling his eyes, “So I’m going to sell it, obviously. Besides, I’m the one that’s now in charge of him or whatever, so at least this way it seems like I told him to do this.”

The commander nodded in agreement, but Levi could see the amusement glittering in his piercing blue eyes. “Well then, shall we start heading out?”

“Oh, finally, I thought you’d never fuckin’ ask at this rate. If I spend one more hour in this shithole, I’m going to start a scandal just for the fun of it all.”

Snickering, the other Scouts started to get themselves into their wagons, not bothering with the window coverings, since apparently their whole stealth plan had been scrapped. No, it would be fucking wonderful to see people recognize them. For once, Levi was looking forward to watching noblewomen stop in their tracks and start to gossip about them, which was a... conflicting sensation, to say the least.

Walls, if the expression of the stable (thank fuck, Levi finally remembered the name for it, such an easy word, too) guards was anything to go by, then this ride was going to be fucking _fun._

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, giggling like a madman: And then they HELD HANDS oh my STARS I'm a g e n i u s
> 
> also, Cute Eren has my entire fucking heart, as he should. Hope you liked it!!


	19. Chapter 19 (now with more Pining!!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's...a lot. This chapter ended up being SO much longer than I had planned, it's literally double my average word count. Alas, I didn't want to break it up, so you can have it as is!!
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> \- Panic attacks/PTSD symptoms/depression issues. Starts after the first "-_-_-" thingy, and ends at the second one, if you want to skip it.
> 
> -descriptions of absolutely HORRIBLE tea, it felt sacrilegious to write.
> 
> -you want some cheesy shit that may or may not be overused? I gotchu !!
> 
> -secondhand embarrassment, anyone? I, too, experienced severe flustery-ness right along with Captain Oblivious himself.
> 
> -P I N I N G
> 
> -Ah, cuss words. They truly paint wonderful pictures. Calling someone a half-witted fucknugget is truly a work of art.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SWEAR IM NOT DEAD IM SORRY!! There's been really bad storms where I am, as in 'one of the power lines got hit by fucking lightning' type of storm. (It fucking snowed! It hasn't snowed here in 14 fucking years!!)
> 
> But yeah, needless to say, my internet has been screwy as fuck for a while now, it's a miracle that I can even post this today. I'm SO sorry for not responding to comments, I couldn't even get Chrome to work for the past few days. Also, how the fuck am I at 5k hits?!?! It's so weird to see that people are reading the things I write, but I love it! Thank you all sooooo much for the support, comments, kudos, and everything else! It means so much to me!!
> 
> K, getting sappy, so I'll stop. Enjoy!!

Oh, the flair and dramatics were SO definitely worth it.

The small group was practically _buzzing_ with delight as they made their way back to Headquarters, especially whenever people would stop to gape at them on their way through whatever towns they passed through.

It actually became a game of sorts, where they would count how many people would freak out over their…interesting… presence. They had even made up a scoring system; one point if someone was staring at you, two if they bothered a companion to show them and/or whisper excitedly about it, three if someone dropped whatever they were holding out of reflex, and four to five points if someone made a big display of their shock. Hell, they had even bumped it up to six if someone straight up passed out, which had happened not once, not twice, but _five fucking times_ over the course of their journey. Everyone would then keep track of their points until they got out of the main residential areas, where they would tally it up to determine the winner of that spot.

By the time they found themselves back within the familiar cobbled streets of Headquarters, Levi had the grand total of 1291 points, far surpassing everyone else, but that was probably because he could see more than the rest of them could, since he didn't have to look out a window. Plus, Hange, the only one who had been consistently sticking their head out of the front of the carriage-like wagon, kept getting distracted by various things, so they never noticed the subtle whispers and awed glances.

The weird looks stopped once they were back in their base, for the most part, anyways. Out of all the Regiments, it was the Scouts who were most used to seeing some fucked up shit, so most of them barely spent a second to question why there was a fucking deer carrying one of their Captains through the streets.

They stopped by Erwin’s office first, to drop him and Hange off, because their lab wasn’t too far, although it was still undergoing some repairs from the fire. Honestly, Levi was pretty sure that he would die mad about how _neither_ of their Important Places got burnt down. Instead, HIS fucking house, which he had spent _years_ carefully arranging, cleaning, maintaining, and practically _loving_ , managed to get wrecked the second a teensy-weensy bit of fire touched it. Now he had to wait at least another month or two before they could rebuild everything, and even then it would probably never be the exact same.

He continued being mildly pissy right up until he was standing outside of his temporary house, and/or prison. It had served as both at one point or another, but he sincerely hoped that with Eren back inside, that it would feel at least somewhat close to a home. Walls, Levi felt like he hadn’t had a proper home in so long, just places to stay at or sleep in.

“Oi, Birdbrain,” he called, swiftly dismounting from the shifter’s back with a soft thud as he hit the ground “you weren’t bullshitting us when you said you could change back, right? If I have to deal with antlers on your head, I’m going to be so fucking mad.”

Eren huffed indignantly before going still, large doe-eyes squinting in concentration. A second later, he was human again, and there were thankfully no traces of his previous form anywhere on his body.

“I _told_ you I was fine. And look, I’m getting better at this throat thing, too!”

A couple of his friends gave him concerned looks as they made their way inside, but none of them had the energy to say anything. Most of them had been up for well over 24 hours now, so Levi couldn’t particularly blame them. Hell, he was used to staying awake for nearly weeks at a time, but even _he_ wanted to find the nearest bed and collapse onto it, though he suspected that his exhaustion was more from the adrenaline crash that was slowly starting to make itself known.

Levi realized, a bit too late, that as of then, he still didn’t have a bed. The only spare cot was still broken, and Eren was more than likely going to take his own spot back, which left the captain with literally no options. Well, there was one option, but he wasn’t particularly sure if the person he had in mind would be comfortable sleeping near him after…well, everything, really.

He spent quite a while trying to figure out how in the fuck to politely and not-awkwardly ask Eren if he could stay with him, which was rather stupid, seeing as they had slept in the same bed on multiple occasions. Still, he wouldn’t want to make the shifter unhappy with his presence or anything like that, because Walls knew he had done enough damage within the past twenty-four hours alone.

Somehow, the brunette managed to fucking _sense_ his internal conflict, probably because of whatever weird heartbeat detector he had. He didn’t say anything, just gave Levi a small smile as he grabbed his wrist to gently drag him into his room.

In any other circumstance, it probably would have made the captain slightly weirded out to be invited into someone’s personal space so casually. But then again, this was Eren doing it, so even if he had the energy or presence of mind to really care, he probably wouldn’t have anyways. Hell, it even felt oddly……sweet? That was the most accurate way to describe it, but it didn’t even begin to cover the complicated tangle of emotions that were trying to make themselves known, even as Levi pushed them down.

“You sure that you’re okay with… any of this?” he asked, despite the parts of him that were saying to just accept comfort for once in his cold, dark, and depressing life, “Actually, scratch that. Are you okay in general?”

Eren laughed quietly as he removed his boots and coat. “Okay with being close to you for over 8 hours after a month of no contact? Yes. Okay, like, emotionally? No, but I will be sooner or later.”

Well that was conflicting, to say the least. How in the fuck the brunette could put two completely opposite sentiments into the same breath, he would never be able to understand.

What Levi meant to say was “Tell me how I can help you feel normal again,” but the only thing that he could manage to get out of his stupidly clouded head was, “Do you want to talk about it or something?”

A pair of glittering green eyes flicked to his, somehow almost perfectly visible, even as the last rays of sun were slowly disappearing from the sky.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that,” Eren sighed, before a faint grin appeared on his face, “But only after we’re both under this incredibly fluffy blanket.”

Damn him, appealing to Levi’s exhaustion like that. Not that he was complaining, the idea of being able to hold onto his personal space heater for the first time in far too long sounded downright heavenly.

Sighing, he took off his cloak and boots, before placing them both by the door in a neat pile. It took every ounce of dignity and self-restraint he had not to straight-up fucking dive for the rather inviting looking bed. Instead, he managed to calmly walk over and slide himself between the blanket and the mattress, ignoring Eren’s impatient sigh.

Oh, holy fucking Walls.

It was so fucking WARM and SOFT and sweet Maria-Rose-and-Sina _why hadn’t he done this sooner_?!?

“Get the fuck over here, you superheated brat,” he sighed, idly reaching his hands towards the source of the absolutely blissful warmth.

Eren hummed in agreement, then complied, curling into the captain’s chest as he looped his elbows around his neck. Honestly, that wasn’t really what Levi had in mind, but by fuck was it better than them just laying there together.

After a moment’s hesitation, he reciprocated the embrace, gently pulling the brunette closer with his arms, which were now wrapped gingerly around a very warm waist. The small movement earned him another satisfied hum, which pleasantly vibrated against his collarbone, due to where Eren had chosen to tuck his head into. Walls, that felt really fucking nice.

“So, Birdbrain,” he asked, despite the urge to put it off for just a while longer, “what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

The shifter huffed, burying himself further into the captain’s arms. “Changed my mind. Don’t want to talk anymore. Too tired.”

Levi debated whether or not to push him further. On one hand, Eren probablyyyyy needed to let out some emotions, instead of keeping it all bottled up. (Yes, that was a bit of a stone throw from an _entirely_ glass house on his part, but he figured that his emotional state could wait at _least_ another few decades before he had to do something about it.) Still, a rather large part of his instincts told him that it would be so much easier to just pass out right then and there, and he seemed rather inclined to listen.

“Fine,” he sighed, mentally compromising with himself, “but you have to tell me at least sometime tomorrow. If not me, then your sister. Or Shitty Glasses. Anyone really.”

There was a slight, bubbly laugh from against his chest, and it took all of his self-control not to melt into a pile of jelly on the perfectly good bed.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He laid there for a while, unsuccessfully attempting to fall asleep. It kinda felt like he was caught in some sort of fucked-up limbo; too tired to do or say anything, but too awake to properly pass out. He suspected that the latter had something to do with his perpetual excitement over Eren’s proximity, (no, not the weird kind of excited, he was just glad to have him back) but then again, it could have just been his insomnia acting up, so he wasn’t completely sure.

Unfortunately, the whole sleep-without-sleeping situation left him alone with one of the worst things in the world: his own thoughts. He had never been the type to worry over every little mistake or argument, but when he did regret something, it was horribly intense. Which, as he now realized, was probably going to come back and bite him in the ass.

It didn’t take long for the annoyingly intrusive voices of self-blame, doubt, and regret to worm themselves into his head, despite his best efforts to stop them.

‘ _Not good enough, kid._ ’

Ah, yes, because it was _so_ lovely to have the mocking voice of your homicidal uncle running through your skull in the dead of night. Simply wonderful, really, but at least he could deal with it. Kenny was a shit uncle, sure, but he rarely tried to use guilt trip maneuvers. (Well, he discouraged any displays of emotion, really, but that was beside the point.)

‘ _You weren’t strong enough to save me, mon cher._ ’

Oh Walls, not again. Just when he thought he had finally gotten rid of that one, it always seemed to pop up. He was beginning to wonder if he’d ever be freed from the softly accented words, the ones that always told him that he simply wasn’t enough to save their speaker. Not strong enough, not smart enough, not fast enough, he was always lacking _something_. Now, he would never be able to be ‘enough’ to save her.

‘ _Why didn’t you save us, Levi? You promised you’d protect us for as long as you’re alive!_ ’

Ah fuck, that one genuinely stung. He didn’t think about… _them_ … often, but when he did, it was always like cutting into the scab of an old wound.

‘ _You said I was like your brother. Why couldn’t you save me, then? Isn’t that what siblings are for?_ ’

‘ _We never got to be free, Levi. Never got to finish our first expedition, thanks to you._ ’

Damn it, once those memories got dredged back up, there was no stopping them. The best he could do was try to block them out, which he tried to do by shoving his head into a nearby pillow. It… didn’t really work.

‘ _Never good enough._ ’

‘ _You don’t care. You never will._ ’

‘ _Who could love a murderer like you?_ ’

‘ _You’re a liar, Levi._ ’

‘ _A failure._ ’

‘ _A disappointment._ ’

‘ _Weakling._ ’

‘ _Monster._ ’

‘ _Traitor._ ’

He knew it was true. Every damn word of it. So many people had fucking died because of him. Their blood was on his hands, whether he liked it or not. His mother, possibly his uncle, the only real friends that he’d ever fucking made. They were gone now, and it was all his _fucking_ fault.

‘ _If you couldn’t save us, then you won’t be able to save him._ ’

He wasn’t sure when he stopped breathing properly. Everything started feeling like it was too much for him to handle. The weight of his grief and pain started pressing in on him like a physical force, overwhelming him to the point where his lungs could only manage to take in shuddering, shaky breaths.

Where was that heat coming from? Why was it scorching his face?

Well, if he was burning, he figured that he definitely deserved it. Hell probably had a special spot reserved just for him, where he could watch the people he cared about be killed over and over again, all while he was powerless to stop it.

“Levi. Look at me.”

An angel? What was an angel doing in Hell? Wasn’t that the whole point of the stupid dual-afterlife thing? To keep the good and the bad apart?

“I’m here, okay? Do you feel this?”

The burning moved to his hand. It was…familiar. Painful, but it didn’t cause any harm. He flinched back from it, afraid of getting hurt again.

“It’s just me. Your Eren, remember?”

He- why was that name making his heart soar, even when it was trying to sink into his stomach?

“Eren,” he muttered, allowing the name to bring at least a little bit of stability to his raging storm of a brain.

“Mmhmm, that’s me. And I’m right here. Not gonna let you go.”

Finally, he managed to focus long enough to see that there was a pair of green eyes almost directly level with his own. There was no way that they could be real, they were too fucking gorgeous. But those lovely little flecks of blue, they were so damn familiar. He _had_ to have seen them somewhere, there was no way he’d forget such fascinating eyes.

‘ _He has to be an angel_ ’

The person/divine being/whatever the fuck blinked in surprise, and Levi realized that he had said the words out loud. A bit embarrassing, that, but it most definitely wasn’t a lie, so he didn’t feel any major remorse about it.

“I thought you were against people calling me that.” The angel grinned (he absolutely had to be an angel with a smile like that). It was the most amazing thing on the whole planet. “There was a riot about it, actually. You looked like you were going to kill people.”

A riot? When had that happened? He should have been able to remember something like that, but the memories…no, he didn’t even want to consider going back into his own head. There was too much pain there, too much regret and hurt. Besides, he didn’t need to remember anything, not when there was someone so perfect laying right in front of him.

“Levi, are you okay? Do you want me to get Hange?”

“Depends,” he said, feeling completely numb and loopy, “Is Hange another angel?”

The person next to him burst out laughing. “Wow, you’re really out of it. They would kill to hear you say that.”

“So not an angel then?”

“Definitely not.” Another smile, smaller this time, but beautiful all the same. “Though, to be fair, I’m not either.”

“Oh…” Levi was pretty sure that it was impossible for him not to be some sort of heavenly being, but he didn’t want to argue. “Then who are you?”

There was a moment of silence as the not-angel thought, expression changing to one of concentration. Levi thought it was a nice look on him, slightly pouty but very focused. Definitely cute though, he knew that for sure.

“Well, I’m Eren,” he started, reminding the raven of that vaguely familiar name. He knew it was important, really important, but he just couldn’t get it to click. “And I’m this.” 

Not-Angel/Eren pulled his hand upwards, which made Levi realize that their fingers had been laced together. Well, at least that explained the almost-burning feeling against his palm.

‘ _I’ve done this before, I know I have. With… damn it, I should know this._ ’

“That’s still not working? I’m starting to get really concerned, Levi. I was already, but this is something super bad, isn’t it?”

The captain avoided the piercing eyes, continuing to stare at their joined hands. He felt like he absolutely had to keep it that way, and it also gave him more time to think about where he had seen it in the past.

He knew that it had something to do with a town, because he remembered sneaking glances at hands joined just like this, with neat stones on the floor beneath them. And he had felt…warm. Not like he was feeling on his hand, or even on the left side of his face. It was more like the warmth was coming from inside him, like it had sprung up _because_ of the hands. Or maybe he had been sick, that might have done it too.

“Leeeeviiiii?” Eren called, drawing the raven’s attention away from their intertwined fingers and back to his stunning eyes.

When had he gotten closer? It felt like there was barely any space between them, but he had no idea if that was his doing or not.

His gaze involuntarily trailed down to the angel’s unfairly gorgeous lips. He was so close, it would be wonderfully easy to just move forwards the extra few centimeters and-

No, wait. Why were his instincts screaming at him to stop? Wasn’t he _supposed_ to kiss the pretty boy? It felt so _natural_ and so fucking _right_ , there was no reason for him to stop now, not when what he clearly wanted was literally right in front of him.

But…why was something stopping him, then?

He was horribly torn between two sides of his own thoughts and feelings. The majority of his heart was telling him to do what he already knew he wanted, to _take_ and _feel_ , to _protect_ , and, for once in his painfully numb life, to _love_.

That damn voice though, it reminded him that he needed to stop himself. It felt like a warning, and if there was one thing Levi knew about his instincts, it was that they had a perfect alarm system.

His splitting battle of internal voices was cut off by a kiss, but not on his lips, much to his disappointment. Instead, the angel had pressed his slightly chapped lips onto the very tip of Levi’s nose, like some sort of adorable butterfly or something.

“Go to sleep, Levi,” he murmured, pulling back with a faint frown of reluctance, “You’re safe with me, I promise. Just go to sleep and this will only feel like a bad dream in the morning.”

Well, who was he to refuse gentle orders from some sort of heavenly being? Besides, he had felt drained for a while now, so perhaps unconsciousness would be the best option. If he was lucky, the voices would go away. Maybe Eren would be able to keep them from coming back, since he had promised that Levi would be safe with him.

As he slowly drifted off into his nightly free-trial of death, he swore he either heard or felt someone humming a familiar lullaby into his neck, but he was too tired to stay up and listen to it.

He was warm and he was safe, and it was the best thing he’d felt in years.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Levi awoke, for once, in the same place he had fallen asleep in, which was Eren’s incredibly soft and very comfortable bed.

Speaking of, wasn’t he supposed to be here with him? He distinctly (well not so distinctly, but closely enough) remembered falling asleep whilst being in close proximity to the shifter. Even after…all that mess, he was sure that Eren had stayed with him.

This raised a very terrifying and concerning question:

Where the fuck had he disappeared to?!

Well, technically, it wasn’t the _question_ that was terrifying, it was the possible answers. And, after what had happened the last time Eren had disappeared, Levi was very much not content to sit there calmly and think rational thoughts.

Instead, he rushed through changing into one of Eren’s shirts that were folded inside of a wardrobe (it was a bit big on the captain, but he really didn’t care, because he was kind of panicking too much to notice. Besides, the brats should get their new laundry delivery today, so he would grab a better shirt then) and decided to ignore the fact that he would be wearing the same trousers for the second day in a row. The alternative was waiting way too fucking long before rushing downstairs to find out whether or not Eren had been kidnapped in his sleep. Or that he had decided to run away. Oh Walls, what if he’d been killed and someone hid the body?!? Was he even still alive?!!?

With each new and more horrible alternative buzzing around his mind like insistent wasps trying to escape his skull, he stumbled his way down the stairs, not bothering to look calm and collected as he practically sprinted towards the main room. As always, there was a somewhat loud chatter happening inside, but he couldn’t pick out individual voices.

He practically slammed open the doors, which was impressive considering that they were each at least 10 centimeters of solid wood. There was a sudden halt in the conversation, probably caused by the loud banging sound of heavy oak hitting solid stone, but it stretched on as they noticed the more-than-slightly terrified captain standing in the doorway.

“Where in the FUCK did he go?!”

When no one answered, he attempted not to tear his hair out from sheer frustration.

“You. Uhhhhhh,” Damn it, why did his brain choose that exact moment to draw a blank on Blondie’s name?! “Christa! Where the fuck is Eren and his sister?! If you’re covering for a murder I will find out.”

The concerned blonde gave him an odd look, equal parts shock and worry. “They’re…in the kitchen? Making-”

She didn’t even get to finish her sentence before Levi bolted past her and into the small kitchen area.

Oh, thank the fucking Walls.

“Oi, Birdbrain!!” he practically screeched, marching right up to the shifter as he yelped in surprise, “Don’t you _ever_ fucking disappear like that again, got that?! I thought you got fucking kidnapped for the second fucking time, you bastard!”

Mikasa tried unsuccessfully to put an arm between the two as a means of physical separation, but Levi instinctually ducked under it. He moved closer to Eren, who looked like he was either going to laugh or scream, and gave him the harshest flick on the forehead that he could muster. Favoritism? Maybe, but after yesterday, he couldn’t bring himself to seriously harm the brunette, even if it was a half-joke.

Of course, because he was a fucking weirdo, Eren did the least sensible thing for any person to do. He giggled for a brief second, then pulled the captain closer so he could wrap his arms around him.

Whether it was the intended reaction or not, it made Levi stop dead in his tracks, losing all semblance of coherent thought as the shifter hummed quietly in his ear.

“First order as your Captain: you’re going to learn how to be a fucking normal person. I don’t care who you use to be your teacher, but as of now, you need a ‘Stop Being a Feral Brat Who Has the Weirdest Reactions to Shit’ class.” He attempted to hide the blush crawling up his neck, but that fucking shirt’s neckline was not the most concealing thing in the world. “And the second one is don’t evaporate into thin air without saying anything ever again, unless you want me to kill people. You could just ask nicely for that, though.”

Eren laughed again before releasing him. He then had the fuckin’ audacity to act like nothing had just happened, instead carrying on with stirring some sort of…whatever he was doing. 

Mikasa glowered at him before taking the spoon away, because apparently he was doing something wrong. (Honestly, why did these idiots think he had any idea how to cook?!) Somehow, she managed to do that while glaring at Levi, although it didn’t have its usual bite.

“Can that class thing wait until later though?” Eren asked, hopping up onto an empty spot on the table. Levi tried to ignore the fact that the action put the two on eye level. “I wanna spar with people today, mostly because Connie keeps insisting on it, and Sasha says it’ll be fun to see who I can beat in a fight. They’ve been bothering me about it for the past hour, so I decided to try and help in here.”

“Yeah, because that’s clearly going great. And you can fight whoever you want, as long as you make sure to kick their ass.”

“Y’know, I just don’t get it,” the shifter said, wrinkling his nose in a way that Levi quickly realized he adored, “Food tastes good and all, but what’s the point? I taste it, swallow it, and then it always comes back up, like, an hour later.”

The other two gaped at him, both highly concerned about all the implications that the statement held.

Mikasa was the first to recover, though her expression was still caught somewhere between frustration and guilt. “So all those times I forced you to eat when we were kids, and you just puked it right back up?!”

“I mean,” Eren tilted his head to the side, probably thinking it over. “I think so? Maybe? I don’t remember that much from before, sorry ‘Kasa. But if it was my- my father, if he was the one who did this to me back then, then yeah, I probably ended up rejecting any food you gave me.”

His sister sighed, setting the spoon down so that she could rub at her temples. Levi vaguely wondered if that a family thing, or if it was just an ‘Incredibly exasperated with a certain green-eyed shapeshifter’ thing. Probably the latter, but still, the idea of having a cousin was just so…weird.

“Well I don’t know about you two ‘chefs’,” the captain stared pointedly at Eren before starting to head for the door, “but I’m going back upstairs to get properly dressed, now that I know that there was no kidnapping or murder last night.”

“Hold on, I’m coming too!!”

“Why in the fuck would you do that? I’m literally going to be back in a few minutes.”

Eren ignored him and caught his wrist as he made his way out into the stairway, passing the still slightly concerned brats in the main room. “I need to be saved from making oatmeal, that’s why. Either I get yelled at in there, or I’m harassed by people who want me to make their arms feel like jelly.”

“And that concerns me getting dressed why, exactly?” Levi asked, finally finding where the brats had put all their new laundry. Thank the Walls there were things his size in here, everyone either had too-big shoulders or annoyingly short torsos.

“Because you’re safer than any of them, duh.”

The words shouldn’t have made his face feel as warm as it did. But, for whatever reason, the playful admittance of him being a somehow ‘safe’ person made him blush like blood on snow. Curse his traitorously pale skin, it was always a dead giveaway to his embarrassment.

“Can’t run to me if you’re gonna fight with them later,” he deflected, avoiding the shifter’s amused gaze, “I’ll throw your ass to the wolves, no hesitation.”

“Mmmmm, no you wouldn’t.”

Damn Birdbrain and his stupid, cute, smirk-y face.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t,” he sighed, surrendering, “Still. You’ll probably kick their asses, but don’t hesitate to call them out if they do something that you really don’t like.”

Eren leaned forwards (how the fuck could he walk backwards so casually?) and fluttered his eyelashes, grinning. “I’m almost 18, you know, I can take care of myself.”

“Uh-huh, and how many tries did it take for you to button your cuffs this morning?”

“Oh, shut up!! Switching between thumbs and talons isn’t exactly easy!”

“…”

“Fine! It took me 8 tries.” The shifter crossed his arms and did that little half-pout thing. Levi had to suppress the urge to shove him against the wall and kiss it off of his stupid face. “But that’s improvement!! Last time I tried it was well over 10!”

“Yeah, keep that up and you’ll be a buttoner-extraordinaire. Here, practice on mine.”

He shoved his wrist towards Eren, who rolled his eyes before glaring at the sleeve like it was his worst enemy. Reluctantly, he grabbed the hole side of the fastening, keeping it in place while his free hand pulled up the button side. His fingers fiddled around for a few moments, trying to figure out the right way to hold the small bit of metal.

Levi gave up on watching his hands after that, he was too distracted by the brunette’s face. He looked spitefully determined, which was to be expected, seeing as the captain had given him a challenge, and Eren never backed down from a challenge, but he also seemed incredibly focused on the task. It was fuckin’ adorable, like watching a kitten try to pounce on something for the first time. Levi found himself fully engrossed in studying every inch of the shifter’s face, from the way his eyebrows were furrowed together, to the pink corner of his tongue sticking out in concentration. (He spent longer than he’d like to admit staring at that specific detail.)

“Ah-ha!! I did it!” Eren said proudly, hands moving to his hips in a display of victory, “And I only dropped it once!!”

“Mm, good job, brat.” The captain swiftly buttoned the other one, much to Eren’s frustration. “Human thumbs: one. Weird bird magic: zero.”

“Oh, come on!! You said yourself that I did good, that’s gotta count as a win for me!”

“Maybe, but you still used human thumbs to do it.”

The shapeshifter groaned, hands dragging through his hair before he paused abruptly. A dangerous grin spread over his face, and it was unfortunately directed right at Levi.

“You know what?” he said, voice scarily enunciative, “I’ll show you a win for ‘weird bird magic’. Multiple, actually.”

“What are you going to do, brat?” 

“Well first, this.” 

He fucking _lunged_ for Levi, who was unfortunately caught off-guard, and wrapped his arms around his midsection before he could protest. The momentum sent both of them crashing to the ground, but Eren managed to catch his head before it could smack against the hard floor.

This put them in a… _compromising_ position, to say the least. Eren’s hand was practically cupped around the back of his head, and their legs were tangled up due to the fall, so it must have looked rather interesting from an outsider’s perspective. Both of them were breathing a little harder than they should have been, but that was _probably_ caused by having the wind knocked out of their lungs. Probably. Ok, maybe not just that, but it was the excuse the captain was sticking with

Honestly, Levi couldn’t’ve cared less if someone walked in the door and caught them like that. He was too busy staring at the boy above him, who was in _very_ close proximity to his face.

“That was to make you shut up,” the brunette grinned, before burying his face into the side of Levi’s neck, humming happily, “And also to apologize for scaring you earlier.”

“Well, i-it worked, brat.” Damn it, of all the times for him to stutter… “And it’s fine, I, uh, just… I don’t know.”

“You were worried about me because I disappeared with no warning? You wanted to protect me?” He laughed at the heat of the captain’s slight blush. “I don’t mind it if it’s you, Levi. You can protect me all you want.”

Fucking Walls, what was with this idiot and unintentionally romantic one-liners? If he kept this up, Levi would die of a heart attack long before a titan could take him out.

There was a brief moment of pause as he frantically tried to come up with a reply. He settled for saying “Your sister would probably kill you for that.”

“And that’s exactly why she’s the one person I’m gonna refuse to fight later.”

“Ahhh,” the captain muttered, a slight smile forming at the corners of his mouth, “So you _do_ have a brain somewhere in that thick skull…” 

“Hey!”

Levi rolled his eyes and waited for the argument that he was expecting, probably something about how he was incredibly smart when he tried. It never came.

There was a long moment of silence that stretched between them, and it took at least half of it before the captain realized that they were staring directly into each other’s eyes. Walls, why did this idiot have to be so fucking close to his face?!

“Shouldn’t we go back downstairs?” Eren asked, but he made no move to get off of the Scout beneath him. “You need to eat something…”

“I do, yeah.” Fuck, come on Levi, think! You can’t accuse someone of having no brain and then have your own completely shut down! “Don’t particularly like oatmeal, though.”

No, oh Walls, what was he doing?!? Backtrack already, before something really fucking stupid happens.

A barely detectable grin spread over the brunette’s face. “What do you want, then?”

Fuck, what in the actual goddamn shit?!?

His mind blanked, and he spit out the first thing he could think of. “Tea.” He hated the fact that his voice cracked slightly at the end of the word. “Some tea sounds really fucking nice right about now.”

Eren laughed and stood up, before offering a hand to the very flustered and stunned captain on the floor. He quickly accepted, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet with a sharp tug.

“You’re in luck then, the rest of us decided to make some this morning.” The shifter grinned and started walking backwards out of the room, keeping his attention focused on Levi, “It’s for a game, actually. We decided to call it ‘Try and Meet Captain Levi’s Impossibly High Standards’.”

Levi, who was feeling an odd mix of pride and offense at the comment glowered for a moment. Then, when he realized that they were approaching the stairs, he had to grab Eren’s shoulders and flip him around. Honestly, the brunette probably knew about the upcoming descent, but there was a good chance that he would try and go down it backwards, which would probably result in a nasty tumble to the first floor. The captain didn’t particularly feel like watching yet _another_ person fall down the stairs because of their own stubbornness, nor did he have the energy to deal with a concussed Birdbrain.

When they walked in the door again, there was much less of a disturbance, most likely because there was no half-panicked slamming of doors. Instead, a couple of the room’s inhabitants waved them over to where they all sat, gathered around one single table.

Said table appeared to have 10 nearly identical cups of tea on it, although they varied slightly in color and opacity. Oh, and the smell was enough to make Levi more than slightly dizzy, because there were so many. Somebody’s slightly over-steeped peppermint blend was invading his nose, but even that strong scent wasn’t enough to overpower everything else. There was weirdly floral ones, at least one thing that went wayyyyy too heavy on the anise, and some that smelled almost citrusy, which piqued his interest a little.

“Please don’t tell me you expect that I’m going to like any of these,” he groaned, trying to rub away the oncoming headache as he sat in the spot that everyone had cleared for him, “I’ve met the sum total of 3 people in my life who can make tea that I can at least swallow, besides myself.”

“Who knows, maybe you’ll find something new that you like!” Ponytail grinned, looking far too confident, even as Levi gave her the harshest glare he could manage.

“Doubtful, but keep dreaming.” 

He picked up the cup closest to him, looking down into its contents with a scrunched nose. “Who in the fuck left the fucking leaves in here?!? It’s going to be so fucking bitter…”

Reluctantly, he brought the cup to his lips. It was a miracle that he managed to even let some of the vile liquid into his mouth, although he literally jerked away with visceral disgust once he did so.

“What in the fresh fuck?!” he yelped, desperately trying to get the ashy taste off of his poor tongue, “Somebody start digging a grave for this fucking shit, preferably the one who ruthlessly slaughtered some perfectly good tea. How did you manage to make a fucking _chocolate-berry blend_ so bitter and burnt?! It is literally _impossible_ to make fruit teas taste so….ew.”

Much to his surprise, nobody seemed to take offense at the comment. In fact, most of them started laughing, save for Horse-Face, who shook his head regretfully, even as he himself tried to hide his smirk.

Alright, if they wanted scathing remarks, he was going to fucking _deliver_. Walls, and it was about tea, too, one of the few things that he was genuinely passionate about.

Sighing, he grabbed the next cup, but not before standing up and deliberately pouring the old one out of the nearest window. He almost felt bad for the bush that got watered with the disgusting liquid. Did plants have taste buds? Walls, he hoped not, otherwise he’d end up killing the poor thing with the poison he had just dumped on it.

“Holy shit!!” he sputtered, desperately trying not to spew out whatever he had ingested. It sure as hell wasn’t tea, that was for sure. “Pray tell, you damn brats, how did you manage to get your hands on a fucking _mountain_ of peppermint?! Did you shove 60 crisped up candy canes in this?! And why the fuck do I taste fucking blueberry?! Who even- Why- How?! How did you think this was a good idea?!?!?” 

Ignoring the riotous laughing from in front of him, he rubbed at his eyes, halfheartedly hoping that if he blinded himself, they wouldn’t make him finish this. It occurred to him that, yes, he could have just refused and stormed off. Hell, he had even made longing glances at the door once or twice, but Eren had noticed his desperation, and promptly wrapped his hand around Levi’s wrist, all with a sparkling smile. It was a pretty clear threat of ‘ _try to leave and I will take your ass down with two hits._ ’ Well then, the captain would just have to suffer for the time being, until he could figure out how to distract Eren long enough to escape.

The third cup was marginally more palatable than the other two, but only just. 

“Y’know, I normally like Greys, especially in the morning, but this is both under-heated and over-steeped. And no, the two don’t cancel each other out, it just makes this taste like warmed swamp water. Actually, no, I think that would be better than whatever this bullshit is.”

Apparently, that disaster of a tea was Buzzcut’s doing, because he grinned and stuck his tongue out at Ponytail, who was rolling her eyes.

“Take that, Sasha, he didn’t yell at mine!! I might win this!”

Levi leveled a glare at the ponytailed girl. “So the peppermint shit was _your_ doing?! For someone who likes food so much, I’d expect you would be able to pair flavors well. I was wrong.” She doubled over laughing, but the captain ignored her as he continued. “Have you considered going into the medical field? You could clear a sinus infection with that! Might help someone puke up toxins. It’s a poisonous substance on its own, but it would work in a pinch.”

“Do the next one, do the next one!!”

Walls, there were still 7 more to go?! He started to think that the brats were trying to off him in the worst way possible, poisoned tea.

Surprisingly, the fourth one was… less horrible that the previous ones. Sure as hell wasn’t fucking good, though, but at least he didn’t want to throw up after drinking a small swallow of it.

“Hm. Is that jasmine?”

To say that Levi was genuinely shocked when fucking _Reiner_ nodded timidly would be an understatement. The other brats started “oooooh”-ing, clearly just as surprised as he was.

“Hard to recognize, considering you seriously overheated your water,” he sighed, then felt the tiniest twinge of sympathy when the tall blonde frowned. Well, if this brat had genuinely tried, then at least he could offer some advice about how to not fuck it up so bad in the future. “Look, don’t let it boil all the way, and definitely don’t put the leaves in while it’s heating. If it starts to get to a rolling bubble point, then take it off the heat for a minute or two. Then, and only then, do you pour it onto the bag or strainer. Take the water to the tea, never the other way ‘round.”

There was a stunned beat of silence when he finished. Clearly, no one had been expecting for him to be so amiable about anything they had made, much less give them any help for making it properly.

“Compared to the rest of you abysmal fucks, Reindeer’s a fucking prodigy. If there’s even the smallest chance of hope for any of you, it’s him.”

The blonde gave him a half smile and a nod of his head. It wasn’t exactly glowing praise, but kinda decent tea deserved kinda decent feedback. Nice and balanced or whatever, Levi was just glad to get the lingering peppermint taste out of his mouth.

The next three cups were unfortunately complete shit. The captain was thoroughly convinced that one of them was actually just watered-down ink, because there was no way that someone could make even a plain black tea so bitter. Plus, apparently the ink-tea was Bookworm’s doing, which only solidified his theory. Had he let it sit in boiling water for an entire fucking hour or something?! Did he decide to make fucking book juice? He really hoped it wasn’t the latter.

Tentatively, he sniffed the final three concoctions, trying to decide which one to start with. He decided to save the one that smelled at least somewhat okay for last, with the hope that it would wash the taste out of the other two out of his mouth.

“That one’s fucking weird,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else after drinking the one that smelled heavily of anise and cloves, “It’s…spicy. Warm. Smells like fucking cough syrup though, and I’m pretty sure that my throat is officially numb. What’s in it?”

Once again, the person who claimed the tea was someone that he wouldn’t have expected.

“Uh, black tea, cloves, anise, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and some black pepper,” Ms. Emo recited, making half of her friends gape at her in shock. “Sugar, too, because apparently these idiots didn’t stop and think that cutting the bitterness was a good idea.”

“Maybe don’t dump so much in next time, it’s way too fucking strong. Where’d you get it?”

The freckled girl gave him an almost catlike grin. “Family recipe, actually. I rarely make it though, because it takes so damn long.”

That was an odd answer, to say the least, but Levi didn’t press as he reached for the next cup.

“Ah, congratulations,” he said, glaring at the cup he’d just taken a sip from, “You re-invented fucking orange juice. How much citrus and sugar did you put in this shit? Is there even any actual tea?”

“Sorry Captain!” Blondie giggled, clearly feeling no remorse for whatever type of syrupy drink that she’d presented him with, “Ymir said to put in some sugar and not to make it bitter, but I think I went a little overboard!!”

“Yeah, I could tell.”

Fucking finally, nine of the ten cups had been (reluctantly) tested, leaving only one for him to try. He silently begged whatever higher power existed that the last one would be at least somewhat drinkable. If not, he was pretty sure it would push him over the edge, and he’d end up vomiting somewhere. At least he hadn’t eaten anything, so there was nothing substantial that could have come back up.

Warily, he wrapped his fingers around the handle of the last cup, bringing it to his lips with extreme reluctance. It was no longer steaming, and the actual porcelain felt only lukewarm to the touch.

He took the smallest sip he could manage, trying to get the barest hint of flavor, just in case it was horrible. 

‘ _What in the-_ ’

It was fucking…good?!

He took an actual swallow of the warm liquid, and everyone leaned forwards intently, curious about his hesitation to comment on it.

Oh, it wasn’t just ‘good’. It was nearly fucking _flawless_.

The blend itself wasn’t anything super special, probably a black tea, if he had to guess. There were sweet hints of caramel and potentially honey, with a slight floral note to it, somehow both flowery and warm at the same time. What fascinated him more though, was the fact that it had been steeped for exactly the right amount of time, and the water had been boiled to just the right temperature. In fact, if he didn’t know better, he'd think that he’d brewed it himself.

“Holy shit.” He took another sip, making it the first one that he’d wanted to continue drinking, much to the other’s surprise. “Which one of you managed to pull this shit off? I can’t believe it, this is actually not bad.”

There was a rather pleased hum from his right, and he turned to see that Eren had propped his head up on his hands, and was watching Levi with the biggest fucking grin on his face.

Oh, of fucking _course_ Birdbrain had to get even _more_ perfect than he already was. He couldn’t just be happy with his stupidly adorable looks or his even more stupidly complex personality, could he?! Noooooo, he just HAD to be able to stun Levi in every way possible!

The captain couldn’t decide whether he wanted to be frustrated, amazed, stunned, or just completely enamored with the shifter in front of him.

Someone whistled from the crowd, snapping him out of his slight daze. “Nice going, Eren! You broke a perfectly good captain!!”

“Fuck off,” Levi huffed, before turning his attention back to the brunette beside him, “And you, what the fuck happened to ‘Human food is pointless’?! Where did you even learn to make tea that well?”

Eren continued smiling, radiating pure satisfaction and smugness. “I never said anything about _drinks_ , Levi. My taste buds work just fine, you know. It’s just the rest of my digestive system that’s different. As for where I learned it? You spent _countless_ hours talking about how much you missed tea, back in the forest. Lucky I have a good memory, huh?”

“Yeah, then why don’t you remember practically anything from before you met me?”

The shifter stiffened, and for a moment Levi was concerned that he’s said something wrong. “That’s different.” He shrugged, tension leaving his body once more. “Besides, I _wanted_ to remember how to make tea, so I memorized the steps, just in case.”

“Fuckin’ weirdo.”

“Yeah, I know.” Eren laughed slightly, then stood up and put his hands on his hips, grin changing to something sharper and more challenging. “Now, since I’m apparently on a winning streak, who wants to fight me first?”

“I mean, you did have an unf-”

“Shut up Armin!!”

There was a moment of silence as the younger Scouts exchanged glances. Somehow, they came to a silent conclusion, and both Ms. Emo and Reindeer turned to face each other, each with an arm stretched out.

Levi wasn’t sure what kind of ritual he watched them do next, but he was slightly terrified of it.

“Scouts, Police, Garrison, go!” they chanted, chopping the sides of their right hand against the opened palm of their left.

As soon as the ‘go’ left their mouths, Reindeer changed his hand from a chop shape to an upside-down V, with his index and middle fingers pressed into his other hand. Ms. Emo, however, kept hers in the original position.

“I win.” The blonde said, putting his two fingers on top of the other’s flattened thumb. “You always pick Garrison, it’s too easy.”

“Damn it, fine. I get second, though, when he inevitably kicks your ass.”

On the bright side, Levi wasn’t the only one that was completely fucking confused. Eren seemed just as lost, eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to process what he had just watched.

“So…I’m going against Reiner first?” he asked, tilting his head to the side to show his confusion.

“Looks like it.” The blonde started walking towards the back door, presumably heading to the stone circle that served as a fight ring. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you!”

Oh, Levi knew that was the _worst_ thing for him, or anyone, to _possibly_ say to Eren. He could literally feel the shift in the air as the brunette tensed, already itching for a fight. It was nice to see that his regular, fiery attitude was coming back in full strength, even if it could have been a little terrifying with it's unwavering intensity.

The group walked out into the slowly warming afternoon sun before separating so that they could find spots to sit that would keep them out of the danger zone. Levi decided to climb about a meter or so up a nearby tree so that he could get the best possible view of the spectacle to come. He perched on a decent branch right as Eren and his opponent took up opposite sides of the ring, both of them stretching and getting ready to start.

“Rules?” Reiner asked, rolling his shoulder in an attempt to loosen the muscle there.

“Don’t kill me, I guess. Maybe try not to break anything, either, but I doubt you’ll get the chance.” The shifter grinned and flexed his fingers. “Oh, and I won’t change forms. Consider it… a way to _go easy on you._ ”

The taller boy barked out a laugh. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not me making up the equivalent of rock paper scissors at the last second for shits and giggles-


	20. Chapter 20 (or the one with the fighting and the flowers)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, as the title suggests, this chapter mainly involves 2 things: Fighting and Flowers
> 
> ...Yeah thats pretty much it lmaooo
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -Fight scene, so descriptions of violence but theyre not trying to seriously hurt each other
> 
> -the hitting of pressure points! as someone who has tried all of these out on himself (not the smartest move, but I was curious) I can safely say that it hurts like a bitch!!!
> 
> -description of a migraine
> 
> -cussing, lots of it
> 
> -possessiveness and painful amounts of pining (guesss whooooo)
> 
> -obscene amounts of me using flower language!!! (thanks wikipedia, u the goat)
> 
> -gentle bullying (directed at Levi lmaooo)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohohohoooo updating at a reasonable time? Me? impossible. Yet, here I am, just after writing a flurry of flowers and shit, ready to post this at 5 AM, because I'm too stubborn to do anything else. Oh, and this was supposed to be longer, but the shopping bit took up more space than I expected, so it's getting cut into 2 parts.
> 
> Anyways!! I want to say thank you to all the comments for encouraging me, they give a HELLA confidence boost, you have no idea! i love them all!!
> 
> Okok be free now, go read whatever crack i've cooked up this time.

Levi had never been one to enjoy watching other people fight.

Generally, it was either painfully staged or just plain old boring, so he avoided watching anything related to combative sports. No, he much preferred being _in_ a fight, to experience the rush of adrenaline firsthand, normally against a titan or two. (For some reason, no humans had ever seemed particularly interested in letting an icily terrifying Scout captain get within melee range, much to his mild disappointment.)

However, like many things in his life, apparently Eren was an exception.

He had watched the shifter fight before, against titans, but seeing him go at it against an intelligent being was absolutely fascinating. Levi vaguely wondered if that was what the others had seen when he and Eren had fought a month ago. Well, minus the weather, since there was no suffocating fog that obscured his vision.

It started out rather slowly, like Eren was testing his opponent’s abilities. He didn’t make a single attack for at least the first minute or so, just dodged and deflected blows with a practiced sort of grace and finesse. Hell, even when Reiner had made a sweep for his legs in an attempt to knock him over, Eren had fucking flipped _over_ him, using his shoulder as a spring point for his hands. That stunt sent the blonde staggering, evidently pushed off-balance by the fleeting weight on his right side.

For whatever reason, the brunette waited for the other boy to quickly recover from his slip, all the while grinning and circling around the ring of stones. Ironically, the movement was nearly hawk-like, distinctly reminiscent of how a falcon circled its prey.

Once Reiner regained his footing, he blurred forwards, aiming an open-palmed hit at Eren’s midsection, just below his ribcage. Despite being almost impossibly quick and well timed, it didn’t land, because Eren pulled his forearm up and to the side. It had the effect of using the blonde’s momentum against him, sending his body careening to one side, like a horse that had suddenly decided to make a sharp turn before the rider could stop it.

Unfortunately, Eren hadn’t paid attention to Reiner’s other hand, which managed to clip him on the side of the head as he stumbled to the left.

The effect was instantaneous, and a quiet hum of tension filled the air as Eren’s reflexes took over. For a second, Levi was worried that he was going to transform, but there was no pressure waves or light shows.

Instead, it was like someone had flipped a switch in the brunette’s brain and body, sending him into hyper-focus mode. He spun, ducking under Reiner’s slightly flailing arms, and came to stand behind him. Before the blonde had the chance to turn around, Eren used his deliberately posed hands to nail a pressure point on his back, with the knuckles of his first two fingers digging in just to the right of his opponent’s spine, followed by a short jab with his other hand on the same spot.

Watching someone as tall and physically imposing as the blonde brat get sent to the floor by two seemingly small hits to his back was more than a little absurd. Levi looked on in utter fascination as his entire torso went tense, then completely slack as he keeled over, grunting in pain.

Eren watched him as he knelt, struggling to get air back into his lungs. There was something dangerously fiery and downright ravenous in his glinting, green eyes. His entire being looked like it was screaming for more, for blood to be spilled onto the muddy earth beneath them. It was absolutely exhilarating to see him like that, albeit a little concerning. If he lost control, Levi wasn’t sure if even _he_ could calm Eren down.

“Damn it,” Reiner panted, still kneeling in the dirt, “You win. I surrender.”

The words made both Levi and Eren blink in surprise.

“You…do?” The shifter asked, head tilting to the side as he continued watching the blonde, warily observing all of his movements, “You’re not gonna trip me up when I come over to help you, right?”

Levi couldn’t decide whether to be offended or proud, but he was more inclined towards the latter. In a real fight, asking that and expecting an honest answer would probably get him killed, but at least Birdbrain had learned from his past mistakes. Besides, the blonde brat seemed like he valued honesty and all that ‘honor’ bullcrap, so it was a safe bet that he wouldn’t go back on his words.

“No, I won’t. But, uh, if you could fix this, that would be-” He winced, hand clutching at the small of his back. “-that would be nice, thank you.”

Eren looked more than slightly apologetic as he walked over and knelt behind his friend. It was always a bit of a surprise to see him switch between moods so quickly, jumping from near-murderous to sympathetic within less than a minute.

Carefully, he put his hands onto the blonde’s back. It looked sort of like he was measuring something with his fingers, right before using them to press into the same spot as before. Reiner flinched, but managed to relax after a few moments of tension. 

Once he could stand again, Eren gave him a clap on the shoulder, then realized his mistake and smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, uhm…all good? I didn’t mean to hit it quite that hard and nerve damage is _not_ something to mess with.”

Reiner sighed and rolled his eyes before starting to walk out of the fight ring. “We agreed anything goes, no hard feelings. You beat me fair and square. Besides,” he grinned, before dragging Ms. Emo out from behind the tree she was hiding behind with her not-girlfriend, “ _she’s_ going to be the real fight, so my pride will recover when she sends your sorry ass sprawling.”

The freckled girl smirked, but didn’t say anything as she casually leaned against the tree. Levi hadn’t seen her fight before, meaning that he didn’t have any real way to assess her abilities, but he didn’t particularly like the energy she was exuding, all confidence without a hint of insecurity. It felt like she was using the arrogance to conceal something darker, something secretive and mysterious. Not that Levi had any right to talk, he had turned concealing his emotions into a near work of art (after many, many years of perfecting it, but still). Of course, it had taken only one dumbass of a person to break through that façade, a fact that he decided to pointedly ignore for the time being.

“Alright then, Yeager,” she sighed, stretching out her arms, “you wanna wait t’ start, or go at it right now? Oh, and Rei, get your ass to Resident Mom over there, it looks like he’s goin’ to pass out.”

Levi glanced over to where the blue-sweatered brat was sitting, arms crossed and frowning with worry as he perched on top of a small boulder, near the outskirts of the forest. He did, in fact, look like he was either going to yell or faint. Maybe both. Either way, he seemed rather concerned for his friend’s health, a fact that was made quite evident as he immediately started berating him when he walked over.

“Yeah, I’m ready whenever you are!” Eren grinned, drawing the captain’s attention back to where it had been.

Damn it, this idiot was going to need some serious help with threat assessment in the future. He seemed so fucking flippant about the dangerous energy coming from the girl beside him, as if he couldn’t sense the hidden bloodlust that was nearly enough to rival his own. Levi had to push down the urge to warn him, to _protect_ him, because he knew that the brat had to learn from his mistakes, no matter how much he wanted to stop those mistakes from happening in the first place.

Eren and his new opponent stepped into the ring. Both of them immediately took up fighting stances, forgoing the warm-up that had prefaced the last battle. The rest of the Scouts seemed a little on edge at the sight, clearly excited about whatever was to come.

Honestly, Levi wasn’t sure what he had been anticipating for this fight, but Eren making the first move was definitely not it.

The shifter lunged nearly the second Ymir got into position, lithe body blurring across the few meters between them. He made a jab or three at her shoulders, but only one of them found their target.

Nothing. Fucking. _Happened_.

It was like Eren hadn’t hit her at all. If Levi hadn’t watched the brunette’s fingers dig into the crease between her arm and ribcage, he would have thought that she had somehow dodged the attack. The truth, however, was much, much different, and not in a good way.

Ymir laughed, actually fucking _laughed_ , before bringing her knee up to hit Eren square in the chest. He managed to deflect the blow with his forearms, but just barely.

“Not bad,” she grinned, stepping towards the shifter as he tried to rub some sensation back into his (probably bruised) wrists, “but predictable, as always.”

The fuck did that mean?! They only barely knew each other, and even with Eren’s bright and friendly personality, they hadn’t had the time to get properly acquainted, let alone be able to reminisce about past experiences.

Apparently, Eren seemed just as confused, because he gave her an odd look as he rolled under an attempted kick to his head. The only thing that indicated something close to a response was the smirk on her face, taunting him to try something else, perhaps another attack. He didn’t, probably because he was still reeling from his first attempt, but he did use a good defend/deflect method to ward off her next series of hits.

At one point, the freckled girl narrowed her eyes and backed up slightly, but only long enough for her to formulate her next attack. She pulled her arms close to her chest, then spun around with her leg lashing out in what Levi recognized to be a rather unblockable kick, especially since Eren was in such close range.

There should have been no way for him to dodge. With that speed and power, the hit was inevitable, and judging from the shocked gasps from the crowd below him, the rest of them knew that it would be impossible for even Eren to protect himself from that kick.

Except, it _wasn’t_.

The same switch seemed to click on in the shapeshifter’s head, making his general posture and attitude go from ‘ _I’m going to just defend myself and deflect everything_ ’, to ‘ _get her ass on the floor, I want blood_ ’. 

It would have been near-impossible for a normal human. But, Eren was neither of those things, which became very clear as he literally grabbed Ymir’s leg mid-arc, hands somehow latching around her ankle and thigh, effectively stopping her from moving. He could have stopped there, since all her momentum was now lost, but it seemed that his instincts took over, encouraging him to actually _flip_ the girl over his shoulder, by her fucking leg.

By then, the rest of the brats were practically screeching, something about the failed attack being from someone named Annie. Levi didn’t pay much attention, he was too captivated by the duel happening below him.

By some miracle, Ymir managed to somersault herself back into a standing position, but Levi could tell that she was shaking with adrenaline and possibly fear. She shook it off, and edged forwards, catching Eren’s hand when he tried to land a chop-blow to her head. Smirking, she gave his now-captive wrist a sharp tug, forcing him to stumble closer.

Instead of forcing him to the ground or anything of the sort, she leaned in and whispered something into his ear. Levi justttttt barely managed to catch the end of whatever she said, but that was only because of his echoey vantage point. 

“…want…years………-learn that one, _Rennie_?”

Levi couldn’t explain it, but the words sent a fucking shiver down his spine. Hell, he wasn’t even on the receiving end of it, nor did he have ANY fucking clue who or what the fuck a ‘Rennie’ was, and yet, for whatever reason, those two syllables set him completely on edge.

If he thought that it had been unsettling for him to hear, whatever effect it had on Eren was infinitely worse.

The brunette completely froze, eyes going almost comically wide. Fucking hell, Levi was pretty sure that he wasn’t even breathing, let alone holding the presence of mind to move out of the way when Ymir kneed him in the stomach, sending him tumbling to the ground.

For whatever reason, he didn’t even raise a finger to stop the viciously grinning girl from pinning his now exposed chest to the floor with her boot. There was not a single attempt to fight back on his part, just complete and utter shock.

Levi almost screamed in frustration. He couldn’t drop in and do anything, Eren would never forgive him for that, but by the fucking Walls did he want to. All of his instincts were yelling at him, telling him to protect _his_ shapeshifter, to remove any and all potential threats from the area. His entire damn body absolutely _craved_ the feeling of Eren being cradled protectively against his chest. And, most importantly, he wanted to make sure that the clearly terrified brunette was safe.

Sweet Maria, when the fuck had he gotten so damn possessive? Eren was a person, not an object, nor should he ever be treated like one, especially by someone who cared about him as much as Levi did. Fuckin’ emotions, making him go and feel things. Ugh.

“I win,” Ymir said smugly, making her victory quite clear as she removed her foot from Eren’s ribcage. She walked away, waltzing her merry way back into the barracks while ignoring her friends’ many questions.

Oh thank fuck, _now_ Levi could go down there and check on him.

He did so almost immediately, barely bothering with climbing down the branches. It was a rather short drop anyways, only about two meters, so he landed with only a few bruises and a grunt of pain. Ignoring the lingering stabbing sensation, he practically ran over to the brunette, who was still laying on the floor, not having moved a centimeter since he’d fallen. Part of him was dimly aware that Clara had popped up at some point, bobbing protectively above his head as he knelt beside the shell-shocked boy.

“Fucking hell Birdbrain, what happened? Are you okay?! Can I- is it okay if I pick you up right now?”

Green eyes snapped to steely ones at the sound of Levi’s voice, practically flooding with relief. The shifter gave him a tight nod, presumably in response to the last question, giving Levi all the permission he needed to scoop him off of the ground and hold him against his chest.

Ah, fuck. That was a shitty mistake.

Something inside of the captain absolutely screamed with satisfaction, and it took every ounce of self-restraint he had not to pull Eren closer. No, he couldn’t do that, not with so many people watching him, and _especially_ not where Murder-Scarf could see it. Showing concern? Yeah, that was fine, people would justify it to themselves that he didn’t want to have his new charge die before anything happened. But looking like he was the caring and, ugh, _soft_ pile of jelly that Eren always managed to turn him into? No way in fucking hell. He shuddered at the conclusions people would draw, even as some fiery corner of his brain said that it wouldn’t matter if they did, to let them talk as much as they damn well pleased, so long as they knew that Eren was _his_.

No. Stop that. Bad Ackermann.

He attempted to shove that part of him aside, but apparently Eren had other plans, because he felt a warm face come to rest in its usual spot, tucked into the area where Levi’s neck met his shoulder. There was a gentle hum of satisfaction, and Walls damn it, he couldn’t even tell who it belonged to.

Lips curved into a smile against Levi’s suddenly too-hot skin. 

“Safe…” Eren murmured, words meant for him and him alone.

‘ _Fuck, no, stop stop stop!! Damn it, he shouldn’t_ depend _on me, he’s his own fucking person, and even if he did- wait nonono that is not CUTE stop it this instant oh blooDY HELL WHAT THE FUCK STOP-_ ’

It only took another few (panic filled) seconds for the brunette to pass out, which was unsurprising, given his constant shivers and shaky breaths. As much as his sudden unconsciousness was a concern, it was at least a break from Eren’s consistent efforts to fluster the fuck out of the poor captain. Silver linings and all that, he supposed. Besides, Eren would probably wake up if they left him in the sun for a while, so he wasn’t completely worried.

Levi carried him back inside, pushing past a very concerned Mikasa so that he could get her brother up to his bedroom. Both her and Bookworm followed them upstairs, as well as a few of the other brats, but the captain ignored them too, at least until they got to Eren’s room, where he ever-so- _kindly_ told them to fuck off and go away. Of course, neither of the shifter’s childhood friends listened. Well, at least it was just those two then, they wouldn’t be quite so invasive of why Levi was literally carrying Eren like a fucking princess.

Once he had put the brunette into the sunniest spot on the bed that he could find, he finally let the other two fuss over him. Granted, he had to resist the urge to snap at them for getting too close, but he was slowly getting better at restraining that particular part of his instincts.

“Damn, he’s out like a light,” Murder-Scarf sighed, absentmindedly stroking her brother’s choppy and uneven hair, “If that wasn’t a sanctioned duel, I’d _so_ be on Ymir’s ass right now. I’ll probably give her shit for it anyways, but she won’t care unless fucking _Christa_ says anything.”

Levi snorted quietly. Apparently everyone was done with their two’s pining shit or whatever they had going on. Well, everyone except for the idiots themselves, they seemed to be as clueless as two bricks.

“What even happened?” Armin asked, voice quiet as he stared at his friend, “All I saw was Ymir grab him and say something, before hitting him in the chest with her knee. Was it something she said? Why would he pass out because of it?”

Dilemma after dilemma, that was Levi’s life now, it seemed. He debated telling them the few bits that he had heard being carried on the wind, but decided against it. Until Eren woke up and could fill in the gaps, there was no use in speculating or theorizing anything.

“No point in asking questions right now, brat. He can tell us when he wakes up, you just have to wait until then.” Levi glanced at the sun outside of the window, noting that it was still about an hour or so away from dipping below the Wall. “In the meanwhile, we should probably just let him be.”

Mikasa let out a loud gasp, immediately bolting to her feet. “Shit!! I’ve been so busy with everything else I almost forgot!”

Her statement did nothing but confuse the captain. Fortunately, Bookworm managed to make sense of what she was saying, and he stood up too, albeit a lot slower.

“Either of you feel like telling me what you mean?”

“It’s the twenty-ninth!” Mikasa said, as if that explained everything. She rolled her eyes at Levi’s confusion, arms crossing over her chest. “Eren’s birthday is tomorrow, remember? And I haven’t had the chance to get him a present, not with everything that’s been going on lately…”

Shit, how could he have forgotten?!? Walls, he was a shitty…whatever he was to Eren. Birthdays were important to other people, (Levi generally ignored his, he saw no reason to celebrate it) and it was Eren’s 18th, so that importance was probably doubled.

“Well, isn’t it lucky for you brats that I can authorize a little outing to the nearest town?” he sighed, allowing the barest hint of a grin to play across his face, “But you’ll need a chaperone, so I guess I’ll be coming along too.”

Murder-Scarf smirked, already turning to go out the door. “All three of us know that you just want to impress him with a present, lover boy.”

“Oh, fuck off Ackermann. Do I seem like the type of person to do something as fuckin’ sappy as giving someone presents?”

“Do you really want me to answer that, _Ackermann?_ ”

Damn it. What did he do to get stuck with such a shitty relative? Brat was too perceptive for her own good.

“Even if I did want to, which I don’t,” Levi said, glaring daggers at Mikasa’s back, “I’d have no idea what to fuckin’ get him. And it’s _Captain_ Ackermann to you, brat.”

“A ring, maybe?” Bookworm piped up, a shit eating grin on his face as he put more distance between himself and the captain. Apparently, Levi couldn’t even trust the quiet one!! Everyone was against him, the damn traitors.

“Shut the fuck up Artlet, now is not the time for you to develop a sense of humor.”

“So you _do_ want actual suggestions!” the blonde asked, tone completely and annoyingly innocent as he continued, “I’m pretty sure that Eren will adore anything you get him, but I’d be more than happy to help you think it through!”

Levi groaned, pressing into his eyes with the heels of his hands in an attempt to look inconspicuous as they passed by the main room, which was once again filled with loudly chattering brats. “You really are an Eyebrows 2.0, manipulation and all…”

Armin seemed a bit surprised by that.

“You think I’m like Commander Erwin?” he asked, excitement shining in his eyes.

“Trust me, it’s not a good thing.”

“Hey ‘Min?” Mikasa called from in front of them, smirking as she walked out the front door without bothering to hold it open, “Can we go back to bullying Levi? I’m feeling a bit excluded here.”

“You better fuckin’ not brat, or I’ll strangle you with your own scarf.”

“It’s not even my scarf, technically!” She wrapped it tighter around her neck, before tucking the ends into her jacket. “Eren gave it to me, after our first murder spree!! Good times.”

He tried to stop the flash of jealousy, he really did. Alas, his nerves were already frayed and he was perpetually annoyed with Murder-Scarf (the name just got more and more fitting, huh?) so his hands ended up clenching into fists anyways. She smirked at his reaction, probably sadistically pleased that she’d made him visibly jealous.

“Lay off of him ‘Kasa, he’s actually being really nice by taking us to get presents for Eren at the last second.”

Well at least Bookworm had the brains to stay at least somewhat in his good graces. Unfortunately, his friend did not agree with the sentiment.

“No, Armin, I’m not going to lay off of him,” she growled, something dark and ugly in her tone, “Not until I find out _exactly_ what he intends to do with _my_ brother, so that I can stop it from ever happening.”

Oh, so _that’s_ what this was all about. Clearly, Levi wasn’t the only one who was a tad possessive of the shapeshifter. At least he had the decency to keep it internal though.

“You know, Eren used to like painting and drawing when we were younger.” Armin pointedly focused his attention on the captain, cheerfully disregarding the pissed-off girl in front of him. “I think he’d enjoy something artistic, but that’s my idea, so we’ll have to figure out a different one for you.”

“Oh, Birdbrain can paint? I guess it makes sense, since he seems to like writing and all. Maybe you should get him a journal then, I’ll think of something eventually.”

Mikasa huffed angrily, evidently displeased at being ignored again. “I thought you said weren’t going to get him anything. Aren’t presents for sappy people?”

“Who says I’m going to give him a physical present? Maybe I’ll steal him away from you to go flying, I’m sure he’d love that.” He turned back to Armin. “Anyways, he also likes flowers and anything shiny, I found that out when he decided to start showing shit he considered ‘pretty’ to me.”

“Yeah! He got that from his mother, she taught him how to do all kinds of things with plants and rocks.” The blonde grinned, then paused for a moment, like he was considering something, which he probably was. “Okay, it sounds really cliché, but he’d love it if you got him some sort of potted plant. Or even just seeds, actually! I’d suggest either carnations, tulips, or daisies, those are all relatively easy to take care of.”

Levi was hit with the sudden image of Eren grinning at him from a vibrantly flowering garden outside of a small cottage, dirt smudged cutely on his nose. Fuck, that was absolutely fucking wonderful to think about. The chance to have peace and to give Eren the happiness he deserved, the adorably domestic life, the freedom of not needing to fight titans at every possible moment, everything about it made Levi literally _ache_. 

Murder-Scarf was right, he was becoming too sappy for his own good.

“Okay, plants and art. What else?”

Armin paused again, clearly thinking about other possibilities.

“You both seem to like tea, that would be a good gift. Or maybe something practical, like a hairbrush for that mess he calls hair.” He sighed, wrinkling his nose slightly. “I don’t know how he can stand having it all choppy like that. They must have cut off a lot of it when they were running tests on him, it’s so short now.”

Levi nodded sympathetically, realizing that part of him missed Eren’s previously shoulder-length hairstyle. It wasn’t quite as fun to run his fingers through it, not when he was painfully reminded of just how badly he’d failed to protect him.

He promised himself that he’d never, _ever_ fuck up that badly again. He swore on everything he was.

It took them about a half-hour to reach the nearest town. He and Armin had been bouncing ideas back and forth for nearly the entire rest of the trip. Meanwhile, Murder-Scarf had been sulking as she walked in front of them, clearing a path through various crowds, channeling her angry energy for something at least slightly positive.

Unfortunately, the sun was beginning to dip below the top of Wall Rose, meaning that everyone and their mother was out and about. It didn’t help that it was also a Saturday, so a lot of people were off of work, giving them time to get their shopping and socializing done. Worse, the town still recovering from the blizzard, which led to a shit ton of banging and whirring as homes were repaired.

What did all of this mean for Levi? One massive fucking headache, that’s what.

It didn’t start out too bad, just a dull ache that he could easily push aside. Then, as Armin was browsing through a bookstore, truly living up to his nickname, someone had decided that it would be a great idea to play the same melody on loop, through a music box that someone had been set somewhere. Try as he might to locate the source of the infernal music, it always seemed to move spots, changing from his left to his right, his front to his back, and at one utterly horrible time, he could swear that it was right fucking above him. Needless to say, his head started absolutely throbbing after that, persisting even when they had left the bookshop.

By the time they made it to a gardening store, Levi felt like he wanted to punch someone. His current target was Murder-Scarf; if she sent one more fucking glare his way while trying to hide behind some fucking petunias, he was going to _snap_.

Thankfully, the flower shop didn’t smell as horribly as he expected it to. He had been a little worried that all the pollen and clashing scents would turn his headache into a full-blown migraine, but it turned out to be a lot tame than he’d anticipated. In fact, the predominant smell of wet soil was almost soothing, in a way, like a sort of familiarity that he couldn’t name.

Okay, that was a lie. He very much could name why the scent was familiar. It started with E and ended with N, and was both incredibly stupid and unfairly gorgeous.

The other pleasant surprise was that the store was surprisingly empty, with only a few citizens strolling through the many, many rows of various plants. Even better, there appeared to be only one worker on shift, so no one came up to ask stupid shit like ‘Can I help you find anything today?’. Walls, he had wanted to strangle the paint-splattered idiot who had kept asking that at the previous store.

Armin ended up presenting him with 3 options, assuring him that each were fairly easy to maintain.

The first was a yellow flower that the blonde identified as a type of daffodil, although Levi could clearly read the label on the pot that named it ‘ _Jonquil/Rush Daffodil_ ’. There was also a diagram of the plant’s life cycle, as well as packets of seeds that came with instructions on how to care for it. It seemed like a nice flower and all, but the way that both Armin and Mikasa were snickering about it made the captain more than slightly wary of the plant, so he moved on.

Next, Armin suggested lavender, one of the few plants that Levi could recognize at first glance. Some of his favorite soaps used lavender, seeing as it had a very distinct smell and look, but his headache made him want to get the aromatic piece of purple shit as far away from him as possible.

The third option wasn’t a single plant, it was a whole cluster of vibrant variations of the same flower. Apparently, these ‘carnation’ things were versatile fuckers, and they didn’t look half bad either. Once again, however, the two chucklefucks kept snorting whenever he considered some of them. They also practically yelled at him when he took an interest in the speckled, yellowy one. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust their advice, per se, but their refusal to tell him anything about why they were giggling so much was a clear sign to steer clear of anything that they particularly encouraged.

Mikasa tried to get him to look at the roses, but Levi swore up and down that Eren would somehow injure himself on the hooked thorns, so that ended up being a bust.

One of the flowers that caught his attention was an assortment of multicolored, 5-petaled blossoms, all of them a dainty mix of pink, white, and blue. It was pretty fascinating how even flowers on the same plant could be different colors. The multi-hued thing that they had going on reminded him vaguely of Eren’s eyes, so he had thought it would be a good choice. Once-a-fucking-gain, Brat 1 and Brat 2 nodded exaggeratedly while wearing nearly identical mischievous smiles, so he cautiously put the pot back down. Best to avoid whatever they were trying to get him to do, it would probably end badly.

Finally, he managed to whittle it down to two options: a yellow-blooming, trumpet shaped vine plant called Honeysuckle, which, as the name indicated, smelled like sunshine and honey, (he liked it specifically _because_ of that smell, it rather fondly reminded him of Eren) and a pale purple, daisy-like flower called Aster. (The notes on it said that it perked up when placed in the sun, which, y’know, was funny as shit because it matched the brunette’s similar tendency. Plus, it looked a lot like the flowers that Eren had made matching crowns out of in the forest. That felt like so long ago, but here he was, staring at a direct reminder of it.)

After a thorough and careful deliberation, plus a rigorous test of making sure that neither of the brats had any strong opinions about either of them, he decided that he would get them both. Armin suggested that he get a starter plant for the Honeysuckle, and a seed packet for the Aster. Apparently, Aster was easier to raise from seeds, and it grew quicker too, whereas Honeysuckle was a vine, so it needed to be trellised and maintained more often while it matured.

Sighing, he signaled for the singular worker to come over. He hated asking for fucking anything, so he turned the talking over to Armin as he zoned out the majority of the conversation.

Once everything was done and paid for, (why the fuck were flowers so fucking expensive, even the rarer blends of tea weren’t that bad) he managed to fit everything into an aerated box. Well, it was a box that he had cut holes in with his knife, but that was beside the point. The other two packaged and wrapped their gifts, then scribbled stuff in cards that they attached via multicolored twine. It was an odd little ritual, one that Levi had never really bothered to participate in, but they convinced him to do it too. He scrawled his name and a short message, which he had to hide from prying eyes, before sealing it in the envelope that the other two had given him and slipping it into the box, alongside the new gardening stuff that he’d just acquired.

The brats seemed like they wanted to enjoy the sociality of the town a bit longer, but Levi reminded them that if Eren woke up to them missing, he’d probably freak out. Still, they lingered for a while near a candle shop that the captain wouldn’t go within two meters of, because the smell was making his headache flare up again.

And then they wanted a few more minutes grabbing snacks from a bakery.

Then it was waiting in line for some sort of candy store. Curse them for using Eren’s apparent sweet tooth as an excuse

Oh, would you look at that, let’s watch the glassblower for a bit, Levi, just for a little while…

…

Yeah, that took two fucking hours.  
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I considered breaking this one up, but decided against it because the separate parts are too short for that.
> 
> This one features a bit more insight into the multi-layered enigma that is Eren. Despite being a bit blocky and not of the best quality, it's too important to scrap, so even after 2 days of trying to edit it, this is the best I can make. ;-;
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -Separation Anxiety (listen, the boys are very attached to each other, it makes more sense in my head)
> 
> -Does it qualify as PTSD?? Probably not,,,,
> 
> -Gay Panic (tm)
> 
> -Panic in general, actually
> 
> -Cussing, baybeeee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks at this mess*
> 
> Oh, the plot holes?? Those are, uh, for ventilation. Nice and airy. Yep. Story's gotta breathe, y'know?
> 
> On an unrelated note, I'm too excited about the flower stuff to not share, but it's kinda spoiler-y, so here's what I wrote in my footnotes, like, a week ago lol:
> 
> First chapter of 100,000+ words!!!!! And it’s now old enough to drink! Fancy that,,,,,,,  
> Oh! And you probably want to know the flower meanings! Pulled all of these from Wikipedia! So:  
> \- Jonquil: Return my affection (yes, armin is specifically trolling him, its beautiful)  
> \- Lavender: well, other than smelling good, it symbolizes happiness, love, peace, and devotion  
> \- Carnations!! Ok so these are dependent on color and patterning. Red for romance, Green is apparently some Oscar Wilde shit, White is innocence and pure love, Pink is like a motherly/sisterly love (not in Alabama way, ugh), Yellow is for rejection and disdain, purple means whimsical and wishy-washy, mauve (purple/dark red) means fantasies/dreams. Depending on patterning, it either means yes (solid color) or no (stripe or speckled)  
> \- The 5-petaled ones are Forget-Me-Nots!! They’re very pretty, and, as the name suggests, means ‘don’t forget me/remember you forever’.  
> \- Honeysuckle stands for “Affectionate Bonds or Devotion”. idk what that means but it’s cute and honeysuckles smell good so. Yeah.  
> \- Finally, Aster!! I love aster, it’s so pretty. It’s also a talisman/symbol of love and trust, which fits **amazingly**. 
> 
> Ok yeah that's it, enjoy this hot mess!

Two and a half _fucking_ hours until they finally, _finally_ , got back to the barracks, meaning that, in total, they had spent at least four hours away. Four fucking hours since they had left Eren alone. But who was counting, right?!

He knew that they shouldn’t have taken so long.

Levi wished that he’d been surprised when they arrived at the screaming mess of a stone building. One of the windows was broken, from the inside, too, if the glass on the ground was anything to go by. Weirder, the doors appeared to be bolted shut for once, instead of spilling light into the rapidly darkening evening.

Armin barely had time to lift the heavy knocker before the doors slammed open, leaving the blonde stumbling forwards into the hall. Surprisingly, it was Hange, of all people, who was standing in the doorway, a wild and manic look in their eyes as they made their way out to where the others were waiting.

“And just where have you three been?!” they screeched, dragging the Ackermanns inside by their collars, somehow dodging both of their punches, “Do you know how crazy it’s been for the past hour?!? If this is babysitting, I don’t even want to _know_ what real children are like!”

“We were- Fucking hell Four-Eyes, let me breathe-” Levi glared at the scientist and rubbed at his neck after they released him. “We were out in town, doing shit. It wasn’t supposed to take that long, but-”

He was cut off by a loud screech echoing through the halls. His skin prickled at the sound, and a slight panic seized his chest as he realized who it belonged to.

Hange’s eyes widened, darting around. “Shit, he’s not supposed to move yet! Christa better convince him to stay in bed.” Their gaze flicked over the box that he was holding onto, before going back to take another, more gleeful look at what exactly the captain was carrying. “Oh, so _that’s_ what you were doing! Lovely, I’ll hide those for you, and you can go and deal with the panicked titan boy upstairs!!”

Before he could stop them, they lifted the box from his hands, along with Mikasa’s and Armin’s. He briefly considered yelling at them, but ultimately decided against it when he heard a loud crash from the floor above.

“Open it or fuck with anything and you’re dead, Shitty Glasses,” he muttered, already making his way towards the stairs, with the other two brats right behind him.

Levi managed to make it there while maintaining a reasonable pace. Sure, he didn’t want to take his sweet time getting to Eren, but if he arrived at a flat out run, he wasn’t sure what the effects would be. Maybe Birdbrain would freak and decide to titan-ize himself on accident, which would be disastrous in so many ways. Or worse, Mikasa might make fucking fun of him for rushing again. There was only so much of her slightly malicious teasing that he could take in one day, and that limit was already almost hit.

Once again, the door to Eren’s room was bolted shut, but it swung open after a single knock, revealing a very exhausted looking Christa, an entirely exasperated Beanpole, and…

Oh, _fuck_.

Fuck fuck FUCK why did he ever think for a bloody second that it would be okay to just disappear like that?! He had literally yelled at the poor brunette for doing the _exact_ same thing that very morning! Walls, he had fucking _sworn_ not to fuck up where Eren was concerned ever again, and yet here he was, right after making a mistake of _epic_ proportions. Levi was fucking hypocritic, plain and simple.

His cussing-filled downward spiral was interrupted by a loud cry of, “Eren NO!!” as the shifter attempted to practically catapult himself out of bed, disregarding the blonde girl who tried and failed to keep him down.

Apparently, there was a reason for everyone’s paranoia, because the second Eren got into a standing position, he immediately froze up and crumpled to the floor, expression changing from passionate and determined to something much, much darker.

Oh. Oh _no_. Not that look. _Anything_ but that fucking look.

It lasted a few seconds, before Eren once again regained awareness of his surroundings. His gaze locked with Levi’s for the slightest moment, but it was enough for the brunette’s viridian eyes to absolutely burn with emotion, although Levi was clueless as to which one. (Best bet was anger, though, he knew that he’d be royally pissed if their situations were reversed.)

Before Levi could even register what he was doing, he was kneeling and had thrown his arms around the shaking boy. Fuck the rules, fuck the whole ‘I don’t care’ act, fuck everything outside of their little bubble. Anything to get that haunted look off of Eren’s face.

To be fair, Levi still didn’t really have the most experience with this whole hugging thing, so it probably looked more like he was trying to restrain Eren rather than be gentle with him. Well, at least he had that as a back-up excuse.

He vaguely heard Mikasa ask her extremely frazzled friends what was going on, but it felt like he was hearing it through multiple layers of cotton. (Or maybe gauze, he wasn’t sure. Fleece? Polyester? Whatever, something thick and sound-obscuring.) She didn’t bother with trying to interrupt the two of them. Good. Levi would probably deck her if she got too close, sibling bonds be damned.

For a long and terrifying second, Eren did absolutely nothing. Then, cautiously, he leaned into the hug, head coming to rest on the captain’s shoulder.

“Levi?” he asked, shaky whisper barely audible, even with him being so close, “Is that you? Are you really-”

“Yeah, idiot, it’s me. I’m here now.”

Eren’s hands tangled themselves into the front of the captain’s shirt, pulling him impossibly closer. “Good.”

Levi wasn’t really sure what kind of reaction he’d been expecting. Anger, maybe, for going back on his words. Hell, even fucking hatred would’ve made sense. He’d left him alone when he was terrified and vulnerable, and it wasn’t the first time, either.

But that single word? The utter relief that hung in the air like some kind of fucked-up spiderweb? It made his heart absolutely seize in his chest, painful and giddy all at once. The feeling was only intensified when he came to a fucking _groundbreaking_ revelation:

Eren wanted _him_ , wanted _Levi_ , of all people, to stay.

He was pretty sure he stopped breathing.

“Levi?” Eren repeated quietly, snapping him out of his daze, “Can- can you… make them go away?”

After a brief moment of trying to restart his traitorous brain, he remembered how to make his vocal cords function again. “You mean Blondie and the rest of them?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“The memories…” Eren’s voice cracked slightly, whispers becoming choked and pained, “Please, Levi, I can’t- they- I- they’re too much. It hurts.”

Fucking hell.

Something snapped in Levi, and he promptly stood up, literally scooping Eren off of the floor as the shifter tried to hold back tears.

“Right,” he said, tone becoming a great deal sharper as he addressed the other people in the room, “You lot, out. Go start dinner or something, I don’t care. And track down Fritz, I need to know what the fuck she did to him.”

Surprisingly, none of them argued, not even Mikasa. They all disappeared from the room, quietly whispering about something or other before closing the door, leaving the other two alone.

Once he was sure they were all gone, Levi gently set Eren onto his bed, trying to ignore the urge to keep holding on. Apparently the shifter was just as unhappy about the sudden loss of contact, because he all but dragged Levi onto the bed with him, absolutely refusing to let go of his wrist.

“Don’t leave. Please.”

Levi sighed, allowing Eren to cling to him. “I’m not going to, idiot. Sorry for leaving you for so long, your friends wanted to do some stuff and they stayed out longer than they should have.”

“What stuff did you do?”

“Not important right now,” the captain muttered, before forcing his eyes to meet Eren’s, “What is important is whatever’s going on inside that thick skull of yours. You’re not getting out of it this time, not after you just scared the shit outta me.”

The brunette shifted uncomfortably, evidently not quite happy with the impromptu therapy session. 

“I- it’s a lot,” He started fidgeting with his hands, dragging them through his hair in an attempt to busy them. “I’m getting…flashes, I guess. Like pieces? A couple seconds here and there, but there’s just so many! It’s like- uh, like trying to paint a picture, except you can’t see the paints and you only have one brush. Everything’s all muddy and messed up and- and-”

Levi managed to summon what he _hoped_ to be some sort of soft smile up to his face, “It’s okay, Birdbrain. Just tell me what you remember.”

“Well, there’s a moment where I’m running away from titans, but I don’t know if I was human or not. And one of them grabbed me, then they started running somewhere. The forest, maybe. _Our_ forest.” Eren returned Levi’s smile, but it seemed…off. Sad, but somehow hopeful. It was everything and nothing, all at once, so simple and yet so, so complicated. “Later, there’s another one, where someone tells me how to identify plants, but I can’t see their face. It’s all fuzzy. Something’s stopping me from remembering it, I think.”

“It’s okay. Now, this is gonna sound weird, but whatever. Is there anything in there about a tree-person?”

Paling slightly, Eren nodded. “T-there is, but…… I don’t want to remember that one.”

“Why not?”

“My, uh, my mom’s in it.”

“Oh.” Levi gently grabbed the shifter’s shaking wrists, removing them from where they had tangled in his messy brown hair. “I know you don’t want to, but I need you to try. It might be helpful to figuring this whole mess out.”

“Yeah, that’s- okay. Yep. I- I can do that,” Eren mumbled, biting his lip. He momentarily focused back onto the captain’s eyes, before blushing profusely and looking away. “One thing, though. It’s stupid, but, ah, can you, uhm, can you… hold onto me? Like-”

He was cut off when Levi wrapped his arms around his waist, instinctively pulling him as close as possible to fulfill the brunette’s request. Damn reflexes had to act faster than his brain again, moving his limbs without even a second of thinking it over. Not like it would have made much of a difference, he probably would have done the same thing if his rational side was in charge, albeit a bit slower and probably a lot more tentatively, but it was the point of the thing that mattered.

The shapeshifter sighed, melting into Levi’s arms in a way that felt so wonderfully right. “Thank you. I don’t know if I can do this without some kind of anchor.”

Shit, not again. He really needed to get his lungs checked. At this rate, Eren would leave him dead from asphyxiation within a month, and the idiot didn’t even realize he was doing it.

There was a long moment of silence as Eren tried to pull up the memory, face darkening with every moment he spent inside of his head. It seemed like he might slip into tears at any second, but any time that came close to happening, Levi would just tighten his hold a little bit more.

‘ _I’m right here, brat, and I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe with me, I swear._ ’

Levi couldn’t force the words to come out, but he really fucking hoped that Eren could somehow hear them anyways. Walls, there was so fucking much he wanted to say, not to mention all the things he had considered _doing_ , but his damn mouth kept giving up on performing its proper job.

“I…I think I have it,” Eren shuddered, leaning into the captain’s arms even more than should have been possible, “It’s longer than everything else. But, ah, it starts with my mom talking to me, asking questions about…something. How I feel, probably? And then she takes me to, I think it’s a lake? I can see the moon, completely full. I see it so clearly, like I can touch it if I try and…”

He trailed off for a moment, and Levi had to gently shake his shoulders to pull him back to reality.

“Sorry, it’s just-”

“I know. It’s okay.”

Eren pulled back long enough to give him another smile, much brighter and happier than the first. “Thank you. Seriously. For all of this. For being there for me. I mean it, Levi.”

If Eren was paying attention to his heartbeat, then Levi was totally and completely fucked. His ribcage felt like it was trying and failing to contain a rabid squirrel. If it went any fucking faster, he would probably have a fucking heart attack right then and there.

“W-what happened after the lake?” he stammered, desperately trying to get his… everything… under control.

“She starts singing. I can’t really hear what she’s saying, but it’s gentle and soft and really pretty. Mom was always good at stuff like that.” Eren paused for a moment, probably trying to settle his nerves. “She told me to go into the lake with my coat on, the one that my father had just given to me as a birthday present. I remember that too, for some reason, specifically him giving me the coat and promising that he’d see me soon. But then he didn’t and- um, yeah. Anyways, I can feel the lake, like how cold it was, the little pieces of sand, everything. It’s so clear, Levi, more than any of the others. And when I get to the middle of the lake, right when the moon gets to the top of the sky, all I can feel is this- this sense of _warmth_ and _light_ and _peace_. That’s when the Queen shows up, helping me out of the water. She talks to my mom for a long time, long enough for me to fall back asleep. I can’t find anything after that, not until the Fall.”

They laid there quietly for a few minutes after that, with Levi trying to process the new information whilst Eren curled further into his chest.

“So,” the captain started, wheels slowly turning in his head, “do you think Sidhe- sorry, this Queen figure, did she give you your…abilities?”

“Maybe? I don’t know, right now I’m just-”

“Tired?”

“Yeah, that works.”

Levi sighed, silently rolling his eyes at the other boy. “Idiot, you do know that you’re supposed to sleep if you’re tired? We can always pick this up again some other time, but you need rest.”

“Alright, fair.” Eren laughed for a moment, before pausing to think, “Hold on. You need to eat before either of us falls asleep.”

“No I don’t, the brats made me eat way too much at that fucking bakery.”

“Leviiiii,” the brunette whined, and although Levi couldn’t see him, he was 100% sure that he was doing that cute half-pout thing that drove the captain absolutely mad, “Let me be concerned about you for once!! It’s not fair if you’re taking care of me all the time!”

“That’s-” Oh Walls, he was redder than a fucking tomato. “Listen, that’s…nice, I guess, but I’m genuinely not hungry tonight. Why don’t we just get some sleep instead?”

Eren thought for a few seconds, evidently deciding whether or not it was worth it to put up a fight. “Fine…but you better eat first thing tomorrow! It’s _my_ birthday and therefore _I_ get to boss you around for a while!!”

“Yeah, not a chance in hell, brat.” 

The response came as a knee-jerk reaction, something Levi instantly regretted when he saw the brunette visibly deflate and pull away from him. “But yes, I will eat something tomorrow. Besides, you don’t need it to be your birthday to get me to listen to your dumb ass, just…I dunno, ask nicely or something.”

Green eyes glinted with sudden mischief, and Levi realized a bit too late that he probably should have been more specific.

“So, I can ask for anything, as long as I’m nice about it? Anything at all?”

“…nothing stupid, Birdbrain. Or dangerous. Other than that, then I suppose, yes, anything goes.”

Eren grinned, eyes still sparkling as he held Levi’s gaze. “Did you get me anything for my birthday?”

Oh. Okay. Well, that was less weird than he had expected.

“I did, yes.” He glared at Eren when he tried to open his mouth to speak. “No, I’m not telling you what it is, no matter how many ‘pretty please’s you cram in there.”

“Awww,” the brunette pouted, giving Levi his most irresistible pair of puppy-dog eyes, “Not even a hint? First letter of the thing? Cryptic riddle?”

Curse his fucking eyes, Levi had to literally tear himself away so that he wasn’t hypnotized by whatever weird, extremely convincing magic that Eren somehow possessed. Well, it probably wasn’t actually magic, Levi just had a problem saying no to the rather adorable shifter.

“Nope. You have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Ughhhh, fine. Okay, one more thing, I promise it’s the last one!”

Levi eyed him suspiciously. “Alright, shoot.”

“If I were, say,” Eren paused for a moment, thinking, “a girl, or a normal person in general, with no ‘freaky powers’, what would- no, um, would you… care about me less, or more?”

“The fuck kind of question is that?”

Eren shrunk backwards, suddenly avoiding the captain’s gaze. “J-just curious, no reason.”

‘ _If you were a girl, idiot, I wouldn’t even be in the same fucking bed as you, nor would I feel the constant urge to kiss the shit out of you whenever you do something cute._ ’

He didn't say that, of course, but his brain spat it out before he could stop it.

“Listen, Birdbrain, I don’t know what this is about, but insecurity really doesn’t suit you. You’re perfectly fine just the way you are, got that? I couldn’t fucking care less about your magic stuff, it’s part of what makes you so… _you_. I don’t know. I wouldn’t change any of you for the world, even the annoying parts.”

Was that too much? It felt like too much. Oh Walls, what if he gave himself away already?! That would be a fucking mess.

Thankfully, Eren seemed to perk right back up after hearing that. He flashed Levi one of his dazzling grins, which morphed into something sleepier as he scooted closer once again, already tucking himself into the spot on Levi’s chest that he was practically built for. Or maybe Levi was built for him. No, wait, that sounded sappy again. Gah, he needed to stop that.

“Sleep,” he mumbled, already drowsy from the sounds of it, “then birthday stuff tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Sounds good.” Sweet Maria, when did his voice get so dry? “Goodnight, Eren.”

“Night, Levi.” He paused, then tacked on something at the end that the captain couldn’t quite understand. It was either “fuck you” or…nope. Wasn’t that. No way. He must have imagined it, then.

(Still, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t deny the fact that those last two words sounded an awful lot like ‘Love you’.)

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Fucking hell, not this shit again.

Levi glared spitefully at the increasingly familiar landscape of dark trees and distant mountains. The moon loomed ominously overhead, barely half full. Ugh, he was already in a rather pissy mood, and adding the whole dream-or-maybe-not-dream onto it wasn’t something he particularly enjoyed.

This time, his stolen body had silky fur the color of rocks, specifically those grey, kinda sparkly ones that crumble pretty easily. He still wasn’t sure if he was taking a real person’s body, or if it was just something his brain conjured up to fuck with him. On one hand, it would be pretty fucking weird to just…wear…someone else’s skin, but the idea possible mental instability? Not really the best option either. Well, at least Eren had confirmed that he hadn’t hallucinated everything, he knew that at least Sidhe was real. Somewhere in the world, there was an incredibly unsettling tree. Yeah, he wasn’t getting used to that idea any time soon.

“Oh, just get on with it, will you?!” he snapped, stolen voice coming out as something mid-ranged and smooth as he glared vaguely up at the barely half-full moon, “I can’t sleep through the next five days, Eren will fucking freak.”

By some miracle, (or probably not a miracle, but whatever) it worked, and Tree-Freak themselves popped up right behind his back, nearly making him flinch.

“Right, my sincerest apologies for that. It will just be a short visit this time, I promise.” they said, but their voice held no actual remorse. In fact, they seemed kind of…rushed. Stressed, almost. Weird.

“What do you want me here for, then? I could and should be properly sleeping right now.”

“Ah, straight to business, as usual,” Sidhe sighed, eyelights flitting around almost nervously within their hollow sockets, “Well, I’m sure you know by now that your Eren is not the only Faeborn inside the Walls. I’m not quite sure why or how, though, as they seem to be blocking my link to them for the time being, but I know of at least four. Three, you’ve come in direct contact with, from the looks of it.”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘Faeborn’?” Levi crossed the not-his arms, immediately going on the offensive around the branchy ruler. “And this is unrelated, but would you mind telling me why I have a fucking star that glows and follows me around?”

Lady Sidhe looked up at him, temporarily taking their fire-eyes off of some sort of glowing-thingy they were making between their wooden fingers. 

“Well, I suppose Eren hasn’t regained enough to explain it to you. I’ll make it brief, since it’s Spring now and I need to return to my duties. Essentially, Faeborn are people or animals who are either born with magical blood, or are blessed with magic later in life. I’m afraid there’s very few these days, and most of them aren’t even aware of their latent powers. There are a few other details and types, but they’re relatively unimportant." They glanced up at the sky, seemingly lost in thought. "What you have on your hands is a binding druid, a combat mage, and an incredibly young Droman. In human terms, those are something akin to a sage or a healer, a warrior, and…well, there is no direct translation for Droman. Picture a being somewhat like me, except They're not yet past their first century, so they’d still look rather like a human, I suppose. They’d have a tendency towards plants or nature and be very skilled with magic, although they may hide it to blend in with you humans.”

It took several moments for Levi to process that information. He tried to remember it all so that he could dump it on Hange later.

“I think I might know who you’re talking about. Anyways, what’s up with Clara being…I don’t even know.”

“I presume you mean the Custos spirit?” The wooden figure looked up again, this time studying Levi intently with their piercing blue flames. “An interesting choice, I’ll admit, but I suppose it fits. Her appearance means that your Holder talents are progressing nicely. The next step would be to establish a solid connection between you and her, and then one between her and your shapeshifter. You’ll learn more once that’s all working properly.”

“O…kay?” Levi muttered, not really sure what to do with that knowledge, “Firstly, stop calling Eren ‘my shapeshifter’, he’s his own person, and secondly, what does Clara actually do?”

Sidhe waved him off, refocusing on the web of light that they were weaving. “You will find out at a later time, mortal. For now, you need to find the other Faeborn and convince them to aid you in getting Eren back out to me. If he’s not here by at least a week before the Solstice, there is going to be…major _issues_ , and that’s putting it lightly. You’re tampering with an extremely delicate balance of Mother, Lady, and Queen. Nature does not take kindly to being disrupted.”

“Why the Solstice?”

“Transition of power,” they sighed, flicking some sort of holographic diagram in Levi’s general direction, “Seeing as it’s the longest day of the year, the day with the most sunlight, that signals the Summer powers to begin their slow rise. Normally, this is a much more extravagant event, but these past few centuries have been…trying, to say the least. We’ve been lucky that Winter even got a new Lady, after the Mother disappeared some decades ago. Goddess, what a rush job that was. Alas, I heard that Lady Annie is nowhere to be found, after a nasty spat with her Queen. We can only hope that she returns in time for the Solstice too, along with our own new Lady-in-training.”

Oh, Levi didn’t like the sound of that last bit at all. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance to ask another question, because Sidhe’s light…thingy started hissing and crackling, turning all sorts of funny colors.

“Goddess, why are thunderstorms so temperamental?! I suppose it’s because of my split magic, which is only solved one way.” They snapped their wooden branch-fingers, summoning their glowy-balls to float towards Levi again. “Very well, off you go. Tell the dear claochládan that I say hello, if he remembers me yet. Best of luck with your courting, by the way.”

With that, the chaotic entity and dreamscape disappeared, leaving Levi with more questions than answers.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

At this point, the captain was almost afraid of opening his eyes again. He was rather inclined to believe that he’d wind up in some unknown place that he hadn't fallen asleep in, given his ongoing track record.

Thankfully, that was not true. He woke up in the very same place he had fallen asleep in, Eren’s bed, and with the brunette himself still curled up beside him. From the looks of it, he was fast asleep, which was unusual, given that it was nearly dawn already. Normally, the brat would have woken up literally as the sun rose, but Levi supposed that the exhaustion from last night excused a little bit of sleeping in.

‘Best of luck with your courting…’

Damn nosy trees. He didn’t know what counted as ‘courting’ in whatever world they lived in, but this whole dancing around each other thing probably wasn’t it. Well, it was more like Levi was doing mental gymnastics to avoid thinking about the possibility of being loved _back_ , though Eren had done some…questionable things in the past.

Ah, best not to go down that road anyways. He did not want to start out Eren’s birthday by thinking himself into a headache.

Unfortunately, a headache showed up anyways, in the form of a bespectacled scientist knocking at their door. Eren’s door. Whatever. They silently poked their head inside, face lighting up in sheer delight when they noticed the other two.

“Be quiet, Four-Eyes,” he whispered, glaring at them as harshly as he could.

“Right, right.” They glanced over at the sleeping Eren, still smirking. “Do you think I could steal you away for a moment or two? Just outside the door, brief little chat, I swear!”

Yeah, because the last “brief little chat” had been so enlightening. Still, Hange would annoy him all day if he didn’t humor them, so he found himself reluctantly getting out of bed to join them in the hallway, which he regretted almost instantly. Why was it so fucking cold in the mornings?!

“Make this quick, Shit-Specs, I don’t want to have him wake up and panic again.”

“Adorable. That’s freaking _adorable_ , Levi.” The scientist ignored his glare and continued, face softening into something almost wholly sincere, “You really love him, don’t you?”

Levi desperately tried to hide the flush that started draining the blood from his face. “Fuck off, just tell me what you want already. If this is another therapy session or ‘feelings talk’ I’m going inside and locking your nosy ass out.”

Hange gave him a shit eating grin, then patted him softly on the head, already backing away in fear.

Oh, they did _not_ just-

“You fucking asshole, get back here right the fuck now!” He managed to stop himself from yelling, but just barely, out of refusal to wake Eren. “I’m not gonna let you fucking-”

“Levi? Wher’d’ya go? Please come back…”

Damn it, he was trying to avoid this.

Still scowling, he spun around to see a completely unfazed Eren leaning sleepily against the doorframe, eyes still half closed as he swayed gently on his feet. Levi found himself wondering who gave this idiot the right to be so fucking adorable all the time. Fuck, how did someone make literal fucking sleep look good on them?!

“Eren!! You’re not allowed to come out yet!” Hange yelled, poking their head back around the corner. The captain debated throwing something at them, but decided against it. “Go back in for at least another half hour! Things aren’t ready!!”

Levi turned around to glare at them again, this time with a thin eyebrow arched questioningly. “What’s ‘not ready’?”

The scientist warily darted forwards and tried to gently push Eren back inside of his room. Eren, of course, was having none of that, which he demonstrated by ducking under their arm and running to stand by Levi.

“No! Stop that! Bad Eren!! Just wait a teeensyyyy bit longer, please! Go back inside and sleep some more! Sunbathe!! I don’t care!”

It was sort of funny, watching Hange panic and try to corral the shifter back into his room, so the captain didn’t snap at them. Besides, if they did something bad, Eren would probably let them know. Oh, the mental image of him jabbing the scientist and making them collapse was fuckin’ hilarious. They’d probably try to take notes on it or something, even without the ability to move their limbs. Or paper. Actually, no, that would leave them with only their mouth. Best not to let things escalate to violence then.

Levi’s thoughts were rudely (or maybe not so rudely, he wasn’t sure) interrupted when Eren wrapped his arms around his waist from behind him, propping his chin up on the captain’s shoulder.

“Birdbrain, are you trying to use me as a fucking human shield?!”

“…Maybe.” 

Eren sighed quietly, letting his head fall so that it was resting against Levi’s cheek. Of course, this immediately shut off any and all brain function from the poor captain, who practically short circuited at the sensation of soft hair brushing against his face.

“Mmm, lessss leave while they’re distracted,” he mumbled, clearly still only half-awake, “Run ‘way with me, Levi. Back to bed. Tired.”

Ah, the flush was once again threatening to transport all of the blood from Levi’s face into his ears. It was going to succeed if Eren kept pulling him closer. 

“Isn’t that what you’re trying to avoid though? Going back to sleep?”

The shifter yawned, gently nuzzling his head further into Levi’s face. “Mm, only if y’re not there wi’ me.”

Honestly, the captain would have died right then and there if not for the loud and jarring squeal of delight that erupted from Hange’s entire fuckin’ being. He had kinda forgotten that they were there, because of the whole ‘ _There is. A. Cute, sleepy Eren. He is practically passed out on my shoulder. Oh my fUCKING Walls._ ’ train of thought that was blaring through his mind at top speed. 

As much as he hated to say it, the only difference between him and the scientist at that moment was the fact that they didn’t keep it internalized.

“Fine,” he muttered, desperate for any distraction to stop the heat trying to spread over his face, “guess we’re going back to bed for another half hour. Lazy brat.”

“ ‘S myyyy birthday!” Eren instinctually tightened his hold on the captain’s midsection, pulling him even closer than should have been physically possible. “Lemme be lazyyyy, leannán.”

That damn foreign language again! Normally, he would have asked where the fuck Eren had learned it, as well as what he meant by the last word, but that was only if Levi thought the brunette was in the proper state of mind to do so, which he clearly wasn’t. He made a mental note to ask Bookworm later, he would probably be the best option if Eren didn’t or couldn’t answer.

“Yeah, it’s his birthday, Levi! You gotta do _whateverrrr_ he says, them’s the rules!!”

Mmmmm, he didn’t particularly like the implications of the ‘whatever’ bit, but he let it slide. He did still glare at them though, but that was more of a perpetual thing with Hange. An existential annoyance sort of deal. Hell, if he died before them, he’d probably be glaring at them from his grave.

Reluctantly, he gave into the growing urge get back into bed, preferably with a very warm and rather sleepy shapeshifter attached to him. Wow, the fact that Levi _wanted_ someone to cling to him was completely ridiculous and stupid. 6 months ago, he would have killed someone for even suggesting such a thing. But, as it was with seemingly everything nowadays, Eren was the exception to his unwritten rules. Not that he was complaining, he found that it was kind of nice to have someone that managed to tear down his walls.

He dragged the brunette back to their shared room, (was it considered theirs now?! Is that what… this… was?) before quietly closing the door behind him. Hange had the nerve to fucking lock it from the outside, essentially trapping the pair until they deemed everything ready. Walls only knew how long _that_ would take. The window was looking like an awfully good option.

Eren continued leaning on him, somehow managing to stay attached to his back, even while drowsily walking back to the bed, which he promptly collapsed onto. Unfortunately, since he clearly had no intention of letting go for even a second, Levi fell with him, landing on the mattress with a slight huff. 

After a quick moment of adjustment, Eren settled for being curled into the captain’s side, head still pressed against his right cheek. Walls, this dumbass was going to be the death of him someday.

That thought, unfortunately, was further solidified when he felt the brunette sit up, completely out of the blue. He turned slightly, before leaning over so that his face was literally _centimeters_ from Levi’s. His head tilted curiously when he noticed the redness that had decided to make itself known throughout the raven’s entire head.

So. Fucking. _Close_.

“W-what the fuck are you- just what do you think you’re doing, brat?” Levi sputtered, desperately trying to find a way out of the situation. He attempted to escape by moving his head out of the way, hoping that the rest of his body would follow so that he could jump out of the window or something, but was stopped by- Oh Walls, was Eren fucking _cradling_ his face?!

The green-eyed boy squinted slightly. “Stay still. I’m lookin’ at your eyes.”

“…….Uh, why, exactly?”

Damn it, stop talking without thinking. Actually, stop doing _anything_ without thinking. Just…think. Think only. No moving.

‘ _Sweet Maria, his eyes are even more fucking gorgeous when they’re this close… I wonder what they’d look like if-_ ’

Nope. That was enough thinking.

“They’re pretty,” Eren smiled, which at least managed to bring Levi’s traitorous thoughts to a screeching halt, “Like a storm. But they open up for me. Why, Levi?”

Frozen. That’s what Levi was, completely fucking frozen. Dumbfounded. Gobsmacked. Absolutely fucking _helpless_.

“You’re imagining things,” he muttered, trying to keep his voice at its usual monotone, “Now get off me, Birdbrain.”

“Is that what you really want?”

Fuck. Fuck this stupid shapeshifter. Fuck his pretty eyes, fuck that gorgeous smile, and most importantly, fuck his ability to slip through the cracks in Levi’s carefully constructed walls. (Ok, poor choice of words, he’ll admit, but shitty innuendos aside, the sentiment still stood.)

“Fine. Fucking- Just…back up a bit. And stop holding my face, it’s……weird.”

Eren complied, still grinning as he wriggled around. He ended up settling for propping his chin up on his elbows, which were folded on top Levi’s chest. His eyes never left the pools of grey that watched him carefully, trying to conceal the thousands of emotions that danced behind them.

Yeah. Yeah, Levi could deal with that. It was only another 20 minutes or so until someone let them out, he could live with Eren smiling idiotically at him until then.

Easyyyyy peasy. No big deal.

That was a lie, and he knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, sweet, sweet, oblivious Levi. He's trying his best, he really is. And clingy Eren? I L I V E for that shit.
> 
> Anyways, sorry for that...whatever that chapter was, as well as how long it took to get out. Hopefully the next one (supposed to be the birthday stuff) makes up for it!


	22. Chapter 22 (Birthday Pt 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I planned to make the birthday stuff all one chapter, but seeing as it's over 12k and I'm still not done, it's getting broken in half! Dont worry, the second part is almost done and coming soon. 
> 
> Anyways, I don't particularly want to spoil anything, so no actual summary lmao.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -Descriptions of self-inflicted injury...except, like, it's not?? Does that even count? I dunno, might be kinda yuck for some people, so it's going in here.
> 
> -F e e l i n g s and soft shit (sprinkles of gay panic, too)
> 
> -cockblocking, except it's in the sense Levi literally just wants to vibe with Eren all day, but Mikasa is a lil shit (lovingly, of course)
> 
> -Spiders and subsequently spider genocide 
> 
> -Brief description of heights and falling, as well as potentially fatal situations. Be safe with your tree climbing, kids!
> 
> -Levi says "fuck", what else is new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay!! So, like I said, getting split up, which brings me to an important question. Should I try to get back to shorter chapters (I was averaging 4-5k words a chapter before the trial, now I'm jumping all over the place) or should I continue with my weird and varying length ones? I swear, even after editing and cutting, sometimes my keyboard and fingers just whisks me away until I'm using big words and multiple commas per sentence. Just happens, y'know?
> 
> Pt 2 of Eren's birthday should take maybe another day or so to finish, I'm almost done with it already. Expect, uh, big things. :]
> 
> Oh! And! I forgot to put in how to pronounce "leannán". The website I'm using has shitty audio for this particular word, in the dialect I like, but my sounding-out skills say it's something like "LA-nonn". The other dialects sound a bit different, either a soft or hard A sound in place of the O, so there's that. Still, in my head, I pronounce it "Leah-non", because one of the Dresden Files's characters is named Leannansidhe, which is shortened to Leah. And, as for those of you who want to know what it means, google translate says it means "lover" :P.

Twenty minutes, as it turned out, was an incredibly fucking long time to be trapped in a room.

Well, it _might_ have been the fact that there was someone looking at Levi like he was the fucking sun itself. And it _may_ have also been because the said someone just so happened to be an adorable shapeshifter, one that Levi had kind of, sort of, accidentally fallen in love with.

Still, it felt like every second dragged on forever. Each breath and heartbeat where he allowed himself to be lost in Eren’s emerald eyes became its own little eternity, one where he could ignore all the pain and heartbreak of real life.

Honestly? He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Laying on that bed, laying with _Eren_ , managed to make him calmer and more content than he’d been since…fuck, as long as he could remember. He allowed himself to _feel_ , to _relax_ , and most importantly, to _love_. Silently, of course. Eren didn’t, nor would he ever, need to be clued in about Levi's completely overwhelming feelings. He could hope and wonder all he wanted, but he’d never forgive himself if he drove the shifter away by acting on his stupid impulses.

Neither of them said anything the entire time. They didn’t need to; they were perfectly content just to be around each other like this. Hell, by maintaining eye contact for that long, Levi had practically fucking dragged Eren behind his carefully constructed mental and emotional barriers, allowing him to be closer than anyone had ever been before. He put more emotion into every movement of his eyes than he had put into anything else, not even his most potent of withering death glares. And, like the absolute marvel he was, Eren had responded in kind, showing Levi a side of him that was all soft smiles and quiet hums of satisfaction. The fire burning in his glittering, green eyes was one of the few remaining traits that he had kept, but it seemed less like something that scorched and more like something that gently warmed the people nearby.

Damn it, Levi just could _not_ get enough of it.

Like the greedy, selfish bastard he was, he wanted more. So much more. He wanted to see how those enchanting eyes looked when there wasn’t even a hair’s breadth of space between their owner and himself. More than fucking anything, he wanted to _have_ Eren, to be able to hold him as close as he wanted at any given time, to claim him and show the world that he was _his_ to protect and love.

Yep, Levi was incredibly fucking selfish for even thinking such a thing, not to mention a bit of a possessive asshole. But, at the end of the day, that’s all it was. Just thoughts. Fantasies and dreams, fabricated by a lovestruck idiot desperately trying to cope with his disaster of a life.

That’s probably why he wasn’t as disappointed as he should have been when there was a loud knock at the door, jarring both of them out of their own little reality.

“I’ll get it…” Eren sighed, dropping his head so that it briefly rested directly over Levi’s heart, before getting up with a groan and walking over to the offending piece of solid wood.

“Eren!!” Mikasa yelled, tackling her brother in a hug the second he opened the door, “Happy Birthday! Are you ready to get away from Captain Grumpy and celebrate?! You’ll love it, I swear!”

The brunette glanced dejectedly at Levi, who was watching the scene with a slight frown. “Are you not going to be there?”

“What? Of course I am, Birdbrain.” He took note of Murder-Scarf’s brief look of defeat, which only served to send a flash of smug satisfaction coursing through his veins as he continued. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Eren positively beamed at that, even as his sister glared at both him the captain.

“Actually,” she said, a small, slightly evil-looking grin spreading over her face, “I might need to steal Levi for an hour or two, for party preparation reasons, of course.”

Oh, FUCK _her_.

Sweet, sweet, oblivious Eren, however, didn’t notice the concealed maliciousness, and instead agreed wholeheartedly with his conniving sister. “Yeah, that’s fine! We still have plenty of time left, right?”

“Mmhmmmmm. Now Eren, why don’t you go down and play games with everyone else?” She gestured for the door, specifically indicating that he exit the small room. “I’ll talk to Levi about the planning, and then we’ll follow you into the main hall.”

The second the brunette was gone, Levi glared at the smirking girl. “The fuck was that for, asshole?”

She started walking out the door, giving him no choice but to follow. 

“Well, I do actually need you for something,” she replied, voice no longer dripping with the overbearing sweetness, “But it was also because I’m sparing myself from watching you make heart eyes at my brother for the next hour and a half.”

“I do not make ‘heart eyes’ at him, you fucking brat.”

“Oh? Then what were you doing in there before I walked in?”

Fuck. He had to suppress his blush instinct yet again. “Sleeping, obviously.”

“Sleeping. In the same bed. You sure you remember that right, old man?”

“Oh, fuck off,” he snapped, following her down the stairs, “I’m 25, for your information, but that must seem fucking ancient to a toddler like you. And yes, we were just sleeping, or do you not remember that I spent a literal month _living_ with him in the fucking forest? Sleeping near each other is just something we had to get used to, alright? If he wanted me to stop, I would have done so.”

“Wow, no need to get defensive or anything.” She led him out the back door and through the stone circle, “Don’t want you to have a heart attack and die, Humanity would be losing a priceless artifact.”

If he killed her right here and now, would he be caught? 

……Yeah, probably. Damn. 

Maybe if he could forge a solid alibi??

“Alright, so right here,” she said, pulling Levi out of his homicidal thoughts, “This is where we’re gonna do the cake and presents, sometime after sunset. And yes, I know Eren can’t eat human food, but Sasha insisted, and you can’t stop her once she’s on the baking warpath.”

Levi blinked in confusion, eyes sweeping around the rather empty clearing that he’d been dragged to. “There’s nothing here, idiot.”

“Yes, I didn't notice because I’m completely fucking _blind_ , Levi.” Mikasa rolled her eyes. “If you’d shut up, I’d explain that I need you to get out candles and stuff. Christa’s been so stressed after Ymir disappeared that she made nearly 100 paper lanterns last night. I want to have them hanging from the trees, it’ll look nice at night when they’re all lit up.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong. It would be rather pretty to see all those arching tree branches filled with flickering lights. Not to mention that if Eren stood in the right spot, his eyes would-

Nope. He wasn’t taking chances with his stupid fucking blushing habits in front of the even stupider, even more fucking-er Murder-Scarf.

“Okay, and what about the chairs and tables?” he asked, trying to derail his brain from the rather interesting path it had decided to go down. “There’s no way we can get shit from the main hall out here without Birdbrain noticing.”

“Ah! And that’s where your squad comes in!” She clapped her hands together, something close to genuine excitement shining in her eyes. “They already made it clear that they were coming, so I asked them to ‘borrow’ some outdoor furniture from the Housing Center on their way here. That was about four hours ago, so they should be here in another half hour or so. Well, minus Petra, she’s already inside with everyone else.”

Levi hated to admit it, but she had actually done a good job at organizing this thing. The location was nice, the lighting would be good once they got it set up, and the amount of planning that had gone into everything was objectively impressive. Of course, he’d never give her the satisfaction of knowing that he approved, but still.

“Alright, I’ll start your lantern shit soon, but first, what the hell happened to the plants I got yesterday?” he asked, already fearing the worst, “Please tell me Shitty-Glasses didn’t destroy them or something.”

Mikasa thought for a second, frowning slightly in concentration. “I think I told the Section Commander to give them to Reiner? He doesn’t really seem like it, but he’s the best with plants out of all of us, so they probably won’t die. What species were they again?”

Reindeer?? Handling delicate flowers? That, on the surface, seemed like a recipe for disaster. But what was it that Sidhe had said about there being potential spies in his general vicinity? That one of them would be good with plants and magic? Interesting, he’d have to keep that in his newly-forming ‘Suspects’ list.

“The honey one and…Ashker, I think it was?” Levi shrugged, pretending like he totally didn’t have the names of them memorized out of paranoia, “Fuck if I know, they’re like a white color and there’s seeds for a purple one.”

“Honeysuckle and Aster?!” Murder-Scarf paled slightly, but it was nearly undetectable due to their shared, porcelain-like complexion. “That’s going to be…interesting… Sorta hope they die now.”

“What do you mean, ‘ _interesting_ ’? Are they gonna kill him?!”

She sighed and rubbed at her temples. “No, they- look, for you, it might be a good thing, but for me? Means more of a headache.” Her voice dropped in pitch and she muttered the next bit almost too quietly for Levi to hear. Almost. “Gonna be a pain in the ass trying to keep him off you after this…”

He-

_Huh?!_

“And just what,” he growled, brain suddenly completely overridden by something between curiosity and anger, “pray tell, do you mean by that?”

Mikasa shook her head dismissively. “Nothing important, lover boy. Even if I wanted to tell you, I promised I wouldn’t say anything, and I do _not_ break my promises. Anyways, lanterns still need to go up. I’ll get the candles, can’t have you running off the second you find my brother. You can start working on stringing them.”

Levi was not the happiest with the change in jobs, but he would rather have time to himself than have to keep bickering with Murder-Scarf. Well, he’d prefer time to himself over being around anyone, really. Save for the one fucking exception, of course, because Levi had to go and be stupid! Look where that got him, he was pining like a teenage schoolgirl. Levi, pining! Absolutely fucking absurd.

Anyways, he was quite thankful when Mikasa headed back inside, leaving him alone and on the edge of a forest. A slight sense of déjà vu nagged at the back of his mind, and he let a small grin tug at the corners of his lips as he made his way over to the bin that presumably contained the paper lanterns. Thankfully, it was, in fact, filled nearly to the brim with the folded contraptions. He promptly started pulling them out, and after a few moments of examining them, he figured out how to pull them into their proper shapes.

Damn, Blondie had really outdone herself with this shit. Just how stressed was she?!

The lanterns came in all different shapes, sizes, and color, although the red, boxy ones were the most common. Those required Levi to prop up the rolled-paper sticks so that they supported the structure of the lantern itself. Then, he had to fold down the two flaps that would support the candle when they put it in. He really hoped that nothing would catch on fire; that would definitely be a bit of a mood-killer.

His favorite, he decided, was a medium, yellow, star-shaped, basin-like one that looked like it could have been a tiny boat. It came with strings already attached to it, which saved him a bit of trouble.

Once all of them were propped open and hanging by strings from his neck and wrists, he started thinking about which branches he was going to hang them from. The nice thing about the spot that Mikasa had chosen was that all of the branches arched into a nice tangle over the center of the small clearing, which gave him a wide target range to choose from. Unfortunately, the top of the arch was at least 15 meters off the ground. Quite a long fall, and it wasn’t like he had his gear on him to help.

Well then, there was no other option. He’d just have to climb the fucking trees. Ugh, Walls only _knew_ what the fuck had touched those trees. So much dirt and bugs and- eugh. He told himself to stop thinking about it, to just get over himself and get this shit DONE already. Oh, the sacrifices he made for Eren.

Eventually, he concluded that it would be easier to start with the highest point, and then work his way downwards. That meant he’d have to hang the star one first, since he wanted it to be dangling from the middle of the arch, like a mid-air centerpiece. That way, when the rest of his squad showed up with chairs and shit, he could center it around the lantern. Yeah, that was actually a pretty good idea. Maybe he could be some sort of decorator, if, y’know, there weren’t titans threatening the very existence of his species.

Oh, who was he kidding, Levi wouldn’t last two seconds doing something as tedious and well thought-out as _decorating_. Cleaning, yes. That was easy, methodical, and something that served as and non-violent (for humans, at least, he was a bacteria murderer) outlet for his borderline destructive urges. But hanging shit around a room so that it looked ‘pretty’ or something? No way in fucking hell.

Waving off his thoughts, he began eyeing one of the lower branches warily. Surely there was a better way to go about this; climbing a whole ass fucking tree didn’t particularly sound like an easy feat to accomplish. He did, however, gloss over the fact that he hadn’t hesitated to do so when Eren’s life was in danger, but the point still stood. Trees, especially ones that looked as old and brittle as these, had a nasty habit of seeming easy to climb, and then snapping or swaying dangerously when you least expected it. Worse, if the acorns littering the ground were anything to go by, these were some species of oak.

What was wrong with oak, exactly? Well, objectively, nothing. But, as it turned out, oaken bark was absolutely _shit_ when it came to having ODM hooks launched into it. Levi had seen way too many Scouts take a fatal tumble because their hooks hadn’t sunk deep enough into the actual wood of an oak tree, leaving only the crumbly, easy to break exterior to support their weight.

As a result of this, Levi had developed a rather strong distaste for the acorn-producing fuckers. And, once he’d learned about the absolutely disgusting little parasite known as Mistletoe, (Hange had very enthusiastically explained that it liked to live and feed off of other plants, mainly oaks and a couple other hardwoods) he’d decided that he’d avoid interacting with oak trees and their toxic growths whenever possible.

Now, of course, Levi was going to have to fight his flaky-barked foe. He decided that he would have to be painstakingly cautious about his footing, because there was no way he would trust the trees farther than he could throw them. (Which, of course, meant that he openly expected the traitorous bastards to snap at the worst possible moment. Can’t exactly throw trees, after all.)

“It’s going to make Eren happy,” he gritted as he hoisted himself over the first branch, after heavily testing it for any signs of weakness, “Think of the fucking grin on his face, you hopeless, idiotic- FUCK, IS THAT A SPIDER?!?”

By some fucked-up miracle, or potentially his apparent arachnophobia, he practically vaulted three branches upwards from the offending insect. Shit, he really hoped no one had heard his- no, it was NOT a terrified screech, it was a fucking war cry, thank you very much. That’s right, Levi was officially declaring war on all things eight-legged and crawly. The next one he saw was getting splattered to a pulp, no hesitation. May Spider-God send their souls STRAIGHT into the depths of Spider-Hell. 

He made it up the next few branches with no interruptions, save for the one that creaked dangerously as he swung himself over it. Thankfully, it hadn’t snapped, probably because Levi had the sense to stay as close to the trunk as possible.

As he ascended the almost ladder-like climb, he scrapped his original plan, and started putting lanterns on whichever the fuck branches he wanted. Oh, a sturdy limb that extended over the clearing? Boom, a green, orb-y lantern, easy fuckin’ peasy. Small stick that extended from one of the main branches? Here, have a nice purple box with a long-ass string. Take that you fuckin’ oak, now you have to be fucking useful for once.

The other benefit of hanging the lanterns as he climbed was that the amount of movement-obscuring paper dangling from his neck and arms began to dwindle. As he made it around the U-shaped clearing, he found that it was much easier to climb through and across branches without the delicate light-holders weighing him down. Plus, it meant that his job would be done that much quicker, and then he could thoroughly wash all of the dirt and spider guts off of his poor hands. It occurred to him a bit too late that he probably should have gotten gloves from the stables before going through with this batshit crazy plan. Pulling out the little chips of wood later was going to be an absolute pain in the ass. Or hands, technically. Whatever.

Sometime after he’d placed the second-to-last lantern, he made the horrible, terrifying mistake of looking down.

Now, Levi wasn’t scared of heights. Quite the opposite, in fact, he absolutely loved the thrill of soaring through the treetops with his gear. Emphasis on the “with his gear”. But being this far up, without any sort of safety net or means of a comfortable landing? Well, suffice it to say that he quickly realized that he had an acute awareness of just how much it would hurt if he fell.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

So far, he had been lucky. Almost dangerously lucky, in fact. He had thought that as long as he stood somewhat near the tree trunks, that the branches wouldn’t snap beneath him.

He shouldn’t have trusted an oak tree.

Just as he reached out to hang the star lantern off of what he thought to be the absolute perfect branch, he felt the limb he was perched on bow beneath him, dangerously dipping towards the ground. This had happened once or twice before, so he didn’t think too much of it as he shifted some of his weight onto the branch next to him.

Of course, of fucking COURSE, it had to be fucking _hollow_.

Needless to say, it snapped the second Levi put his foot on it. He was very thankful for his lightning-quick reflexes; they allowed him to just barely catch the limb above it. That one, at least, was totally solid, despite being a bit thin.

Unfortunately, the sudden change in weight made the one he was standing on creak unhappily, and he swore he could hear a slight cracking sound. The panic led him to put more weight onto the one his arms were clinging to, but then that one had to go and bow dangerously, leaving him unable to fully depend on either of them.

Well………fuck.

If he put too much weight on the bottom one, it would snap and leave him dangling for a second, before the top one followed suit and sent him crashing to the forest floor. Yet, if he pulled on the one above him too much, it would have the same effect. Levi did not particularly feel like becoming a (potentially dead) pile of broken bones and deep bruises, so he would have to stay in limbo for now, constantly rebalancing so that he didn’t pull of push or pull too much on either branch. He knew he couldn’t keep it up forever, so the best he could hope for was somebody coming along and noticing his predicament before finding a way to get him down.

“Didn’t think when I woke up this morning that I would get stuck in a tree,” he muttered, directing it at no one in particular, “But here I am, unable to move a single fucking thing or I’ll fall to my death.”

It took him a few moments to register that Clara had popped up at some point, and was gently bobbing beside him, instead of at her usual place atop his head. He nearly smacked himself for not thinking of her sooner, she was literally a beacon that could signal to someone that he was possibly about to die.

“No fucking clue if you can understand me, but Sidhe said something about a connection, and I’m pretty desperate. So, I need you to go and get someone from inside the stone building over there.”

The wisp of light pulsated, briefly glowing an urgent red before zipping off towards the barracks. Thank the fucking Walls that she’d understood his intentions, at least.

Then, he waited for what seemed like a fucking eternity, and this time it wasn’t in a good way. He seriously thought that something was going to snap, or that he’d accidentally make a mistake and go nosediving towards the dirt below him.

So, he waited.

And waited.

Shit, his arm fell asleep.

Now he was _painfully_ waiting.

Oh, FINALLY, _there_ were the running footsteps he’d been expecting. 3 or 4 people, by the sound of it, but one of them was moving much faster than the others. Good, maybe one of them had brought a ladder or something. Perhaps a pile of mattresses that he could land on?

“Levi?!” Eren shouted, voice shaking slightly as he stepped into the clearing, “Levi, where are you? Are you hurt?!”

Damn it, he wasn’t supposed to be out here saving Levi’s sorry ass! He should have been having a carefree party with his friends, but apparently the captain had to go and fuck that up for him too.

“Up here,” he groaned, not bothering to hide the embarrassment, “I’m not hurt, just…stuck. Can’t move or else these branches will break and I’ll fall. I’m fine, really, go back inside and enjoy your birthday, someone else can help me out of this mess.”

Eren looked offended at the fact that Levi had even suggested such a thing. “Wha- No!! I’m not gonna- Listen, just hold on, I’m coming to get you.”

“You can’t.” Levi twitched his shoulders, or at least as much as he could, considering the whole ‘no moving’ thing. “I don’t have gear straps for you to hold onto, so unless you feel like stabbing my arms with those talons of yours, your wings aren’t much use in this situation.”

“My titan, then. I’m definitely tall enough in that form.” He sounded so damn sure of himself, absolutely _determined_ that he’d be able to help Levi. It made his heart seize in his chest.

Hange rushed over, still panting, and grabbed the shifter’s arm, temporarily preventing him from doing something stupid. “Eren, no. I’m not one to turn down an opportunity like this, but we still don’t know if you can keep control when you’re a titan. Walls, we don’t even know if you can change into one reliably in the first place! You haven’t shifted since the last time, at the breach, it would be really dangerous to make this your first attempt.”

Four-Eyes was…being rational?! Had somebody drugged them? If so, Levi needed to know what the fuck they’d been given, for… reporting reasons, of course. Definitely not so he could consistently dose them with it.

“I can do it, Hange.” Eren got quieter, dropping below Levi’s hearing range, but whatever last bit he said apparently convinced the scientist to let him try.

For whatever reason, they were grinning as they stepped away. The captain blamed it on the insanity, as per usual.

There was a moment of silence as Eren came to stand in the center of the clearing, just under where Levi had precariously hung the star-lantern, just prior to when he had nearly died because of a fucking branch. The shifter drew in a deep breath as he sat on the acorn-littered ground, mentally preparing himself for the transformation. He whispered something under his breath, too low and quiet for anyone to hear, lips being the only indication that he’d said something at all.

Everything went calm and still.

Then, the pressure, making the hair on Levi’s neck stand up for the briefest second, before-

There was a flash and a bang, right before lightning, actual fucking _lightning_ came up from the ground, coiling itself around Eren’s body.

Levi juuuuust barely had time to remember that there was typically a shockwave that came right after a change in form. A warning blared in his mind for a brief second, but he couldn’t do anything to stop himself when the branch below him broke, pushed past the snapping point by the suddenly-intensified air pressure.

His fingers scrambled for the triggers that should have been in his hands. Of course, they weren’t there, but it was second nature at this point.

So, he fell, heart seized with mind-numbing helplessness.

‘ _Fuck, am I really going to die here? Dead because of a damn oak tree, huh? Pitiful ending, really._ ’

No. No, he _wasn’t_ going to die here. He wasn’t going to die because he _did_ have a safety net. Levi had someone there to break his fall, to catch him when he needed to be caught. They were always there for each other, right? Constantly ready to put themselves in harm’s way for the other, even when they knew it was a bad idea.

If that wasn’t some convoluted sort of love, then Levi didn’t know what the fuck that word even meant in the first place.

The harsh splatter never came, and thankfully, neither did the painful popping of joints upon impact with the superheated flesh of Eren’s titan. 

“Nice job, brat.” he wheezed, trying to regain the air that had been knocked out of him by the fall.

Titan-Eren made a low, rumbling sound of approval, but it was quickly drowned out by Hange’s noises of manic delight. The scientist immediately rushed over, poking and prodding at the shifter’s ankles as they tried to examine him. Of course, Eren tried to back away in fear, only to panic when he realized that the arch of the trees had effectively trapped him.

“Holy shit!! Guys, come over here and look at this!”

Levi couldn’t see who had said it, since he was currently laying in Eren’s cupped palm, but it was probably one of the brats. If he’d had the energy, he would have yelled at them for being reckless idiots. Walls only knew how Eren would react to having a bunch of people crowd around him all at once. Hopefully nobody would get squished in the process, but the possibility was unfortunately still there.

“Birdbrain,” Levi sighed, hoping that his voice was loud enough for the shifter to hear him, “would you mind letting me down now? We have stuff to get back to, y’know.”

Eren made a disapproving sound that could really only be described as something close to a whine, and Levi suddenly found himself being pulled towards the wall of flesh that was clearly supposed to be Eren’s chest. He didn’t even bother to object; he just silently rolled his eyes as he was gently pressed into the titan’s superheated skin.

It took him a few moments to realize that the new thumping sound was not, in fact, his own adrenaline-elevated heartbeat. No, his pulse was considerably slower than the other one, which meant that he was hearing Eren’s heartbeat. Oddly, he found it sort of comforting. Sweet, even, in some fucked-up kind of way. Almost like the shifter was trying to use Levi to shield one of his vital areas.

Damn it, there went the sappy, ‘ _let’s melt into an incomprehensible pile of mush inside because Eren is being too cute and nice again_ ’ reflex. He really needed to get that under control at some point.

“Levi!” Hange called, probably gleefully bouncing up and down, “You’re near his chest, tell me what his pulse is like!”

Ugh, never a single moment of peace when they were around.

“It’s…a regular heartbeat?” He shrugged, even though none of them could see it. “Bit quicker than mine, I guess, but otherwise normal.”

The scientist crowed, clearly delighted, “So it’s not jumpy or erratic?! No skipping around or randomly stopping?”

“Nope,” he replied, “Just…bigger. Louder. You know what I mean.”

“Fascinating!! Are you ready to come down yet?”

Levi rolled his eyes. “No shit, Four-Eyes. Try telling him that, though.”

Apparently, Hange didn’t pick up on his sarcasm. “Alright, I will! Eren, can you pick me up and put me on your shoulder? I want to tell you something!!”

There was a brief moment of hesitation before the shifter took one of his hands off of his chest. He offered it down to the shouting human, who winked at Levi as they were pulled up to Eren’s shoulder. They leaned over and whispered something in his pointed ear, giggling like a child who was sharing secrets at a sleepover.

Whatever the scientist had said made Eren’s heartbeat spike, but Levi only got to feel it for a few seconds before he was gently placed on the forest floor. Hange joined him a moment later, a vial of blood in their hand as they stepped off of the titan hand that had lowered them.

“Do you just…carry that shit on you?” Levi gestured to the used syringe that they were cleaning, “Ready to prick someone at any given moment?”

Hange looked rather confused. “Of…course…? Why wouldn’t I?”

Oh, he had nearly forgotten. Four-Eyes was completely unhinged, duh. Carrying sharp and rather invasive equipment probably made perfect sense to them. 

He rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to tell them that they were, in fact, fucking insane, but was cut off by a sudden blast of steam from Eren’s titan. Instinctually, his hands reached for the blades that should have been at his hips, then winced, rather disappointed in himself. Not only had he once again forgotten that he wasn’t wearing his gear, but if he had been, he might have accidentally hurt the one fucking person that he had declared off-limits.

“Uh, can somebody help me?” Eren called from somewhere inside of the titan’s evaporation cloud, “This…didn’t go as planned.”

Hange immediately tried to walk into the steam, only to yelp when they got a painful reminder of just how hot it was. 

“Where are you, Eren?” they asked, vaguely directing it towards the slowly disintegrating silhouette, “Is the steam burning you? Do you have a resistance to it? Ooh, this is so exciting!!”

Eren tried to hide the insecurity and fear in his voice, but Levi could hear the slight shake in his reply. “I’m at the nape, but it’s like I’m…attached to it, sorta? I don’t know, this hasn’t happened before. I think it is burning me, yes. Can’t really feel it though.” 

Levi and Hange exchanged worried glances. Both of them had little to no idea of what to do in this situation. It wasn’t like friendly titans were a common occurrence, much less ones who were also (partly) human, so they weren’t really sure of what was or wasn’t safe.

“I’m going in to get him,” Levi muttered, ignoring the protests from the others around him, “Can’t have his dumb ass getting burnt too much for him to heal from.”

Petra smiled and silently offered him her cloak as protection. Honestly, he hadn’t realized she was there until she’d tapped his shoulder, which he probably should have, considering that almost everyone from inside had come out at some point after the initial few. He wasn’t exactly sure how a cloak was going to stop him from getting broiled alive, but it at least covered his arms and head. Well, assuming that the wind didn’t knock the hood off.

Surprisingly, the steam did not melt Levi’s face off the second he walked into it, which was nice. Sure, it was by no means a pleasant sensation, (he felt like he wanted to bury himself in six feet of snow to avoid the dizzying heat and humidity) but he was able to push it aside thanks to the sudden surge of determination. Or adrenaline. Either way, Levi could handle a bit of heat, not to mention he had a somewhat concerning knack for ignoring incredibly high levels of pain when he really needed to. Hange constantly yelled at him for that, something about how he could be bleeding out and he’d just carry on with whatever he was doing.

Finding the slowly dissolving titan was a certified pain in the fucking ass, considering that he was constantly trying to blink away the searing steam that threatened to boil his eyeballs, but he somehow managed to do it.

“Oi, Birdbrain,” he coughed, desperately trying to stop the horrible vapor from invading his lungs, “How am I supposed to get up there and help you?”

Eren’s silhouette wriggled around above him. “Why in the- Levi get out of the steam right now! You’re gonna get burnt!! Wait for it to die down a little!”

“What, and let you burn instead? I’ll manage, just tell me how to get to you.”

“Just…ack, just hold on a minute! I think I can-”

There was an absolutely gruesome tearing sound from above him, horrible similar to how skin sounded when it was literally pulled apart. And yes, Levi had unfortunately heard that noise a few too many times, thanks to the torturous tendencies of his homicidal uncle. Disgusting, really, all that blood and exposed bone.

“Oh, goddess, that…was not ideal.” Eren winced, raising some concern, “Ok, coming down now, you might have to catch me though.”

Levi watched, mildly horrified, as the shifter dangled precariously from the titan’s back, connected to its nape by…Walls, what even was that? Hair? Muscle? Whatever it was, it stuck to Eren’s left forearm, completely enveloping the end of the limb. The other one had the same stuff attached to it, but it dangled like a sleeve of grotesquely horrible pasta, hanging limply from his lower arm.

“Alright! I can work with that!”

Wha- how- Oh sweet Maria, he was fucking _stretching_ the fucking muscle like it was warm cheese. Levi desperately tried not to gag as he watched Eren slowly sink towards the ground, using his weight as leverage. There was no way that that position was in any way comfortable, Eren would be lucky if he didn’t dislocate his shoulder.

“Levi, I think it’s gonna snap.” The brunette grinned and looked down, desperately flailing as an attempt to lower himself a bit more without a free fall. “Not too much farther to the ground though. Catch me?”

Of course, Levi didn’t get a chance to reply, because the muscle-stuff broke the second after Eren finished talking, snapping itself away from his arm with another disgusting sound. He did, in fact, manage to catch him, though it sent them both staggering to the floor.

“Well, that’s new,” Eren wheezed, scrambling to offer Levi his slightly bloody hand. 

He almost regretted accepting it, it was disgustingly sticky. Worse, or better, perhaps, he couldn’t decide, Eren immediately pulled him into a hug, free arm wrapping around his chest. The other got draped over his shoulder, evidently because Eren didn’t want to burn Levi with his searingly hot noodle-tendon-things.

“When Clara showed up without you,” he muttered, head already tucked into its usual spot, the one that the captain was almost sure he had been built for. “Levi, it…scared me. Please don’t do something that dumb again, ‘kay?”

“Same could be said for you, idiot.” Levi rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation, but leaned into the hug all the same. “You saw me stuck in a tree and immediately jumped to becoming a 15-meter titan. There’s, like, three steps of thinking that you missed there.” 

Eren huffed childishly, breath ghosting across Levi’s neck. “Shut up, I knew I’d be fine! There wasn’t enough time for anything else.”

“Uh huh, and just how exactly did you know you wouldn’t mess up?”

“Because I was doing it for you.”

Goodbye, Levi's brain function. You will be sorely missed.

“Anyways!!” Eren continued, like nothing had happened, “Never thought I would be getting caught, but here we are!” The shifter laughed as they made their way back through the slowly dissipating (and thankfully much cooler) steam, “I mean, you’re usually the one doing the falling, leannán.” 

Oh thank fuck that Levi could blame his sudden coughing fit on the steam. And the red face, too. Maybe he’d have to live in water vapor whenever Eren opened his stupid mouth.

They emerged from the steam a moment later, only to be greeted by too many snickering brats and one incredibly enthusiastic Four-Eyes. Said scientist immediately rushed over and started poking at Eren’s rapidly dissolving arm attachment.

“Tell me what happened! Was your whole body stuck? What are those marks on your eyes? Did it feel painful? I bet it-”

“For the love of Sina, Shitty Glasses,” Levi muttered, instinctively swatting their hand away, “Give him a break, why don’t you? He’s probably exhausted as shit.”

Eren hummed, shrugging slightly. “I feel fine, really. Bit dizzy, but otherwise okay. It’ll grow back soon, I’m sure.”

Both Levi and Hange gaped at him. The former was torn between telling the idiot off and checking him over to make sure he was okay. He settled for a nice medium. 

“What’s gonna grow back, exactly?”

The shifter sighed and moved some of the disgusting tendons out of the way, revealing that his fingers had been torn off and somehow cauterized. “Not bad, see? Just a flesh wound.”

“I- you- Eren, half of your fucking _hand_ has been ripped straight off.” Hange sputtered, giving voice to what everyone was thinking, “How are you not freaking out right now?!”

“Dunno.” He shrugged and wrinkled his nose slightly, making Levi’s frustration falter for the briefest second, giving way to a brief flash of ‘ _holy shit that face is so cute_ ’. “I guess I can sorta feel it, but it’s… distant or something. Anyways, let’s go back inside! I want to learn that target game, the one with throwing things.”

He was really just going to…ugh, whatever. Eren had always been rather unconcerned about his own safety, so why start now?! Still, Levi had to keep himself from very heavily berating him on their way back to the stone building. Like hell was he going to yell at the “Birthday Boy”, not with the looks that Murder-Scarf was giving him. He valued his life, thank you very much.

Besides, it wasn’t like Birdbrain really understood why losing a limb was such a big deal. He probably hadn’t been exposed to humans enough to recognize that he couldn’t just recover from something like that, and even if he had, chances were that he didn’t remember it anyways. Hell, he probably just hadn’t been exposed to humans enough in general, not with all the weird shit he did without even blinking. Honestly, who reacts to somebody threatening their life by _hugging_ them?! Especially one of the most dangerous people alive, if he chose to be. Oh, and don’t even get him started the things that Eren said, always so fucking casually, without batting a fucking eye! Why, in the name of the fucking Walls, did Levi have to fall for such a (gorgeous, amazing, wonderful, breathtaking, sweet, funny, _oh shit he needed immediate mental help_ ) idiot?!

‘ _You wouldn’t have fallen for anyone else because they’re not Eren, dumbass._ ’

Damn it, he really hated when he made a good point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'll do my best to have Pt. 2 out soon, hopefully by tonight or tomorrow. As always, thanks for all the support and love, reading people's comments makes me so happy! ^-^ Have a lovely day/night!


	23. Chapter 23 (Birthday Pt 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ack, this took a lot longer than intended, for a multitude of reasons. A lot happens in this one, soooooooo... yeah. Hope you like tooth rotting fluff, this is over 10k of the stuff, making this the longest chapter yet, and for good reason. Got a cvity from this, I swear.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -Mentions of germophobia
> 
> -Awkward social situations and all that jazz (Levi has no fucking clue how one goes about celebrating Birthdays)
> 
> -Frivolous uses of magic lmao
> 
> -Levi's perpetual state of panic
> 
> -Erwin Bashing tm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys, im, like, seriously sorry. I'm VERY bad with deadlines, especially self-imposed ones. The writers block decided to hit me hard, just as I was writing one of the most important parts, ugh. I hope this makes up for it!!
> 
> Let's goooo pronunciation guide!! I'm debating doing one for the French, too, lmk if I should. Imo, French is easier to pronounce and makes more sense than Gaelic, but that might be because I've been learning it. Anyways, here:
> 
> -Cumhacht gréine: (coo-ah(t) grey-neh) The dialects I heard for this one went all over the fucking place, and honestly I'm not sure if any of them fully pronounced the T or not, but it felt wrong to say it without a little bit of it in there. Anyways it literally mans "Solar Power", I'm very lazy like that, sorry.
> 
> -leannan: (leh-nahn) or (leh-non) It means "lover", or at least according to GT.

As it turned out, trying to teach Eren to play darts was an entire damn _ordeal_ , but honestly, once he got the hang of it, he started getting scarily accurate. Levi would have been proud of the monster he had created, except for the fact that he was literally getting the center of the bullseye every. Fucking. TIME. Horrible news for everyone else, of course, but Eren was having a grand old time of it.

Eventually, when everyone realized that there was no way to beat Eren’s quite literal inhuman aim, they switched to limbo. That was an even worse idea; apparently Birdbrain was way too flexible for his own good. Probably didn't help that he turned into a bird at some point to go lower than anyone else.

After that, it was some sort of ball game that broke a window, hot potato (which, as Levi discovered, was not actually played with a hot potato, how disappointing), and finally hide and seek, before they FINALLY managed to find a game that Eren didn’t have a natural advantage over. Out of all of them, hide and seek was definitely the worst, because stupid fucking Birdbrain made it a habit to find Levi first, no matter how fucking well he concealed his presence. He had resorted to hiding with fucking Four-Eyes inside of a closet somewhere, and even _then_ Eren managed to find them within a minute or so. And the grin on his face whenever he did so was fucking horrible, like he knew exactly how much his speed and accuracy pissed Levi off.

Because of all this, it was an absolute _pleasure_ to beat his ass in a game of checkers, even if the captain was quickly dethroned by Christa. She turned out to be a checkers goddess, always managing to win within only a few moves. Whatever, as long as it kept everyone entertained and on somewhat level ground. Besides, she was eventually beat by Commander Eyebrows himself, who popped in briefly to drop off a present and to wish Eren a happy birthday, much to everyone’s surprise. It was…more than a little satisfying to watch her get beaten by the same move that she’d taken Levi’s last piece with.

Once everyone got tired of Checkers Queen desperately trying to challenge anyone who she looked at to regain her honor, they realized that it was, in fact, sunset. Of course, everyone (mainly Ponytail and Mikasa) started scrambling to get their asses outside before they completely lost daylight. Levi counted no less than 14 trays of food being precariously balanced in people’s arms. Dear Walls, who was going to eat all of that?! (He knew the answer, it was probably the person who had made so much in the first place.)

Levi…well, he wasn’t entirely sure what he’d been expecting the little clearing to look like, but this honestly exceeded his non-expectations.

The last three members of his squad had turned up a few hours after his brush with death, presumably after dropping off their ill-gotten décor. As he now saw, it consisted of a large wooden table, carved with some sort of leaf pattern, as well as multiple chairs, all of varying size and material. It was a miracle that they’d managed to find stuff that wasn’t falling apart, especially since those warehouses were incredibly large and maze-like.

But the best part? Well, that was pretty obvious; it was entirely the lanterns. He hadn’t spent hours stringing them up for nothing. Hell, he’d nearly _died_ for the aesthetics of it all, but oh _boy_ was it paying off.

They weren’t lit, but that was okay. Mikasa had tried, but she’d accidentally broken the ladder after putting in the last few candles. (When did Levi find out the brats had a ladder? About two hours ago, _after_ falling out of a fucking tree.) The last few rays of rosy sunlight were hitting them at just the right angle though, sending a spectacularly hazy myriad of colors onto the forest floor. It was nearly impossible to tell that there had been a titan standing in that exact spot not even hours beforehand.

“It’s a shame about the lanterns,” One of the brats sighed, the one that not only Levi, but everyone else had dubbed “Horse-Face”. “Especially after Mikasa put in so much work for them!”

Murder-Scarf scoffed. “Flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere, Jean. Besides, I only put in the candles, Christa was the one who made them.”

“Mmmm okay, let’s just ignore the fact I almost died for the aesthetic, yeah.” Levi rolled his eyes. “Nice to know I’m appreciated, as always.”

Randomly, an idea popped into his head, one borne of spite and dramatic flair. Look at him go, his two brain cells managed to communicate for once, really groundbreaking work. His mother would’ve been proud.

‘ _They want lit lanterns? I’ll give them lit lanterns, alright_ ,’ he thought, lips twitching up slightly at the plan that was slowly coalescing within his mind.

Unfortunately, there was only one problem: for that to work, he’d need Clara, and he had no clue how to summon her. Well, intentionally, anyways, but he didn’t feel like putting himself into yet _another_ a life-threatening situation just to catch her attention.

Sighing, he turned his focus inwards, attempting to ignore the fact that he seemed absolutely ridiculous, even in his own head. 

‘ _Cannot believe I’m doing this, but…Clara? You in here somewhere?_ ’

There wasn’t a response, not a verbal one anyways, but he did feel a slight tingle of warmth begin to buzz through his body, rather like a particularly pleasant campfire. He took it as an affirmative, mostly because the other option was that he was clinically insane. Or maybe he’d been drugged? Whatever, he was going to pointedly ignore the other possibilities.

‘ _Okay, good. Can you, uh, just…do your thing? Pop up so that everyone can- oh, yep, there you go._ ’

He didn’t get to finish his further instructions, because the little wisp blinked into existence. Oddly, like in the tree, she was in front of him, instead of above his head. Hopefully a good sign, maybe he was making progress with the whole ‘connection’ thing.

“There,” he muttered, nonchalantly crossing his arms as if nothing had happened, “Now none of you can whine about lighting or fire hazards or whatever, since the sun has decided to leave us.”

A couple of the brats murmured excitedly, before moving in to get a closer look. His squadmates, on the other hand, were looking at him like he’d just grown a second head. He realized a bit too late that none of them had ever seen the miniature star before. Maybe his brain wasn’t as functional as he’d thought, then.

“Ooooh, Clara’s back!” Hange immediately pushed their way through the small gaggle of curious Scouts, “Can I touch her Levi?? Pretty please? I won’t do anything, I swear!”

“Yeah, I can already tell this isn’t going to work,” he sighed, kicking the scientist in the shins to keep them away, “Clara, can you…uh, divide yourself? Break into smaller pieces, and then go into the lanterns?” 

Surprisingly, the wisp complied perfectly with his request, which elicited another delighted squeal from Four-Eyes. Levi elected to ignore their endless stream of questions, mostly so that he could watch Clara locate and dip into all of the lanterns he had placed, lighting them up from the inside.

“All good now, yes? Any more-” 

He was cut off just as he turned to find a chair, because his eyes landed on the most fucking gorgeous sight that he had ever been lucky enough to see.

“Comp..laints…”

_Holy shit_ -

Sweet Creator of the Walls, was he fucking _dead_?! There was no way he was seeing this…this… fucking… heart-stopping _dumbass_.

Yeah, if he hadn’t already been convinced of the fact that magic existed, his proof would have been that Eren was clearly some sort of witch, one who had hexed Levi and fried his brain.

Walls, the way the multicolored light danced over his positively divine skin…it should have been illegal for someone to look that good. A crime, it was such a fucking _crime_ to steal someone’s breath like that, and Eren was guilty as charged. That halo of iridescence running through his hair, making every strand glitter with its own sparkling hue? Worse than treason, and yet, so, so amazingly right.

Oh, and then there was the matter of his eyes. Levi was falling in love all over again because of those wonderfully stunning eyes. The way they danced with delight and joy, the way that the lights were making them glow from the inside out, the green that seemed to layer itself with every color known to mankind; all of it was dragging him in, practically begging him to come closer and closer until he could see them from less than a centimeter away.

For the second time that day, he let himself get completely lost in those gorgeous pools of emerald and teal, succumbing to whatever hold they had on him.

Really, there was no other way to put it:

Eren looked completely and utterly _breathtaking_ , and it was far too much for Levi’s poor heart to handle.

A hand was waving in front of his face. When did that happen? It was so annoying, blocking the stunning view. He didn’t stop it though. Felt like he was too frozen for that. It was a miracle he was still breathing.

“-evi! Leviiiii! Hellooooo, I can see the lights are on, but nobody’s home! What happened?”

“Fuck off, Four-Eyes,” he snapped, more out of reflex than anything else, “Haven’t eaten and almost died today, I just got dizzy for a second, alright?”

“Ooh, not healthy. But are you sure that’s it? It looked more like-”

“I said fuck _off_ , Hange.”

He could feel the back of his neck becoming very warm and probably very red, but he did his best to ignore it as he rather pointedly sat down in one of the chairs, cutting off any further prodding. Then, of course, because he couldn’t go one second without wanting to be swallowed into the ground nowadays, Eren sat down in the one next to him, already staring curiously at the small pile of presents on the other side of the table.

Thankfully, everyone seemed to shrug it off, probably too excited about eating and stuff to care. Good, Levi would probably lose what little composure he had left if anyone asked him another question. He’d much prefer not to turn into a pile of quivering jelly in front of all these people, thank you very much.

Still, he couldn’t stop himself from constantly stealing glances at Eren. No, literally, he could not help himself, no matter what he tried. Even if he kept his eyes closed, the image of the stunning brunette was engraved into his fucking eyelids. Hell, he was eating some of the best fucking food he’d ever tasted, and he still couldn’t put his full attention into enjoying it, all because he was too busy trying not to space out and panic over a stupid, pretty idiot again. The best he could do was hope that no one noticed how his eyes involuntarily lingered. Or how he went tense whenever Eren made a sound. Or just…anything, really. Better not to be noticed at all, not in this state of mind.

For whatever masochistic, Walls-awful reason, he kept track of every time he looked at the shapeshifter, both voluntarily and not. By the time people started clamoring for cake, it started breaching triple digits, much to his concern and mild horror.

Yeah, Levi was a fucking mess.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

By some miracle, he managed to zone back in just as people started doing…what in the fuck were they doing, actually?

Who in the- Why would someone ruin a perfectly good cake by stabbing tiny candles into it? Were they- Oh, please don’t tell say they were about to light it on fucking fire. There would be hot wax all over the food!! And for what?! Why?!?

Fuck, birthdays were fucking weird. Eren was extremely lucky Levi loved him so much, because he wouldn’t have sat through all of this if he didn’t. Honestly, he-

Wait a minute. Wait just a fucking minute. What were they doing?! Why were they singing?? Oh Walls, was Levi supposed to join in too? He didn’t know the words to whatever insane ritual was being performed! Would it be bad if he just sat there in silence?

Eren looked rather confused too, but he was enthusiastically going along with it, clapping whenever the others did. Well, at least he was having fun, that was all that mattered.

At the end of their horribly out of tune and terrifying chanting, Mikasa told him to make a wish and-

Ok, yep, that cake was ruined now. Massacred. Levi was not getting within 10 centimeters of it, he was nope-ing off to fuck-that-ville.

He watched in horror as somebody cut it up and started passing slices around, evidently not caring about the atrocities that had just been committed. They started fucking eating the tainted cake. Levi felt vaguely like he wanted to throw up as he stared dubiously at the wedge that had been placed in front of him. He hadn’t asked for it, but that clearly didn’t matter in the slightest.

“Aren’t you going to try the cake, Levi?” Eren asked, leaning on the table as he watched the captain curiously.

“It’s not even cake anymore, there’s been actual _crimes_ committed against it.” Levi pushed at it slightly with his fork, shuddering. “I mean, who lets hot wax drip onto a fucking cake, and then unloads a shit ton of germs onto it for the sake of a wish?! I don’t understand how people are okay with that, it just- ugh.”

“Bit of a germaphobe, Captain?” Armin giggled, looking like he’d had a bit too much sugar for his own good.

Levi glared at the blonde boy. “Really? What gave it away?”

“Well if you’re not going to eat it,” Eren grinned, already dragging the plate away, “I’ll gladly take it!”

“Birdbrain…you literally can’t.”

“Sure I can, for a while!” To prove his point, the brunette stole Levi’s fork and shoved an oversized bite into his mouth. “Wurf frowing it up wa’er!”

“Please, Eren, for the love of all that is good and decent, _never_ do that again. Ever.” Levi shuddered, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to get the disgusting image out of his head. “I’m going to be sick to my stomach. Oh, and you got frosting on your nose, dumbass.”

Eren swallowed, then grinned again, evidently feeling quite victorious.

“Here,” he said, smudging a chocolate coated pinky over Levi’s cheek, “Now we match! Say, _Levi_ , did you know that _you_ have _frosting_ on your _face_?”

“I-”

The clearing got incredibly silent, everyone waiting for the verbal flaying that was sure to come.

Levi’s voice dropped dangerously low as he discreetly started leaning towards the convenient dish of whipped cream near his left arm. “You’re gonna fucking regret that, Eren.”

Before the brunette could register what was going on, there was cream streaked through his hair and Levi was daintily wiping his fingers with a napkin, feigning innocence as he tried to hide the slight smirk on his face. 

Hange started cackling at the sight, effectively breaking the silence that everyone had been so careful not to disturb. Unfortunately, their laugh was infectious, and there were multiple snickers and giggles from all around the table. Sasha looked like she was going to pass out, either from laughing or dismay that perfectly edible food had been used in such a way.

“Levi!! That’s unfair!” Eren started trying to get the sugary topping out of his hair, only to realize that his fingers were still covered with chocolate, so he only succeeded in making a bigger mess.

“It was self-defense, Birdbrain. Perfectly fair.”

“No it wasn’tttttt! I only put a tiny bit of chocolate on you, and you dragged nearly a ton of whip cream through my hair!”

The captain raised an eyebrow, calmly leaning back in his chair. “Yeah? What are you gonna do about it, then?”

Holy shit, he needed to start thinking before he spoke. He realized a bit too late that his words were practically an invitation for an all-out war, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He was having more fun than he’d had in an extremely long time.

To be honest, Levi expected to have pudding dumped on his head or something. Instead, he just got hit in the face with a piece of boiled carrot. This warranted a glance at his assailant, one which made him nearly break out into a full and entirely self-satisfied grin at the sight.

Sweet Maria, he had FINALLY done it! Eren was blushing, actually fucking _blushing_ , right in front of Levi’s very eyes, and _he_ was the source of it. He was pouting too, cheeks adorably puffed out as he tried to downplay his sudden redness. Oh, payback was a beautiful, beautiful thing.

“So, I win then?”

“…You win,” Eren sniffed, slouching down in his chair. Walls, he was so childish sometimes. “But only because I want to start presents now, before I run out of…what’s it called again? _Cumhacht gréine_ … sun energy?”

A slight knot of fear made itself known in Levi’s stomach at the mention of presents. “Mmhm, sure, Birdbrain, it’s ‘only because of the presents’. Now, the fuck is up with that language? It’s the second time you’ve used it today.”

Hange leaned over the table, still giggling a bit. Clearly, they were just as curious about Eren’s weird words as Levi was.

“I don’t know, I just…it’s there, sometimes?” Eren shrugged, still slouching in his chair to avoid the scientist’s intense gaze. “Kinda like a default, but also… not? I much prefer this one, really. There’s just some words that make more sense in the other one. I can’t explain it better, sorry.”

Levi opened his mouth to say something, but Hange beat him to it. “How much do you know? What’s it called? Can you make full sentences, or just words?? Gosh, you are just such fascinating little munchkin! Tell me everything!”

Eren looked like he couldn’t decide on being confused, concerned, or offended. “I can make full sentences if I want, but-”

Out of the blue, Murder-Scarf appeared behind her brother, looking at him with much more intrigue than even Four-Eyes was showing. Nobody had noticed her movement, probably because all of them were either still recovering from watching the miniature food fight, or were too busy paying attention to Eren.

“Does this mean you remember?!” she interrupted, cutting him off, “Carla and Grisha taught it to you, but I don’t think either of them were that fluent in it. It means that you didn’t forget everything! That’s a good sign, Eren!”

The overwhelming excitement in her voice was something that nobody had really heard before, save for perhaps Armin. A few of them exchanged surprised glances, obviously taken aback by their normally apathetic or angry friend being so expressive. Levi wasn’t sure what to make of it either, to be honest. “Happy Scarf” just didn’t have the same ring to it.

“I don’t remember a lot, ‘Kasa,” Eren mumbled, suddenly looking very uncomfortable, “And it’s all fuzzy……Anyways, can we go back to the whole presents thing? I’d much rather do that than answer questions!”

To someone who didn’t know Eren very well, they would have shrugged it off, probably assuming that the brunette was just really looking forwards about seeing what was hiding in the small stack of parcels. However, since Levi did know Eren fairly well, he could feel the underlying urgency to change the topic, as well as the unspoken words that he tried to cover with his impatience.

‘ _Just let me be normal for tonight, please._ ’

Something in Levi sparked at the words, immediately wanting to fend off the people who were unwittingly threatening the shifter’s happiness. It wasn’t quite his heart, he had gotten pretty used to feeling _that_ , but it was something similar. The feeling lingered, steadily growing every time Hange kept grilling Eren for information. Levi wasn’t sure he particularly liked the sensation. It felt too much like whatever possessive instinct flared inside of him whenever he accidentally thought of Eren as “his”.

“Four-Eyes, this isn’t an interrogation, it’s a fucking birthday party,” he sighed, hoping to come off more bored than frustrated, “You can spew your inane questions at him later. Some of us would like to sleep some time tonight, you know.”

Hange rolled their eyes, but relented, sitting back down in their seat with a disappointed sigh. 

Eren looked at him in silent thanks, expression making Levi’s lips twitch up slightly. “Better hurry up, brat, unless you don’t want to see what everyone got you.”

“Of course I do!!” he grinned, already reaching towards the pile on his left, “Which one first?”

Levi shrugged, leaning back in his chair once again. “Close your eyes and pick one, I don’t care.”

The brunette nodded, but didn’t listen. Instead, he took a moment to examine all of the boxes, before pulling one from the top. It was a pretty little thing; small, apparently very light, and perfectly wrapped in some sort of shiny silver paper. Of course, the wrapping was quickly discarded in Eren’s haste to see what was inside, but he at least had the decency not to tear it into shreds.

It turned out to be a small jewelry box, and after a moment of confused fumbling, Eren managed to get it open. Unfortunately, he opened it upside down, so the contents spilled onto the table. Tiny, folded figures fluttered onto the wooden surface. They were made of colored paper, and Levi could make out the silhouette of a bird, a deer, and a person. Probably Blondie’s gift, then, she seemed to have a talent for making paper crafts. Along with it fell a pair of russet leather gloves, embroidered with Eren’s name on the wrist in bright green thread.

“That one’s mine!” Christa giggled, confirming Levi’s guess, “You mentioned once that your hands get scratched up pretty easily, so I thought that they might help with that!”

Eren beamed at her, immediately slipping the gloves on and wiggling his fingers appreciatively. “Thank you, Christa, I love them! And I really like the little folding-things you did, they’re really well done.”

The blonde girl blushed at the compliment as Eren carefully placed the folded papers into the small box that they had come in. Once they were put away, he contemplated the pile again, before pulling out one of the boxes Levi recognized. Armin’s, if he remembered right. The red twine was pretty memorable.

Even though Levi already knew what was inside, he still watched intently as Eren gently lifted the lid off of the newly freed package. The shifter’s eyes absolutely lit up as he took out the cloth-bound sketchbook, along with the small tin of colored pencils. He didn’t even have to ask who it was from, partly because Armin had written a small card with his name on it, but also because his blonde friend was one of the few people who knew about his art hobby. Hell, Levi had only learned of it recently, and he doubted that anyone else had asked.

“I’m sorry if you don’t remember, but you liked drawing as a kid!” Armin said, probably thinking on the conversation from a few minutes ago about Eren’s memory. “Maybe this can help in some way. Have fun with it!”

Eren’s voice dropped to a slightly awed whisper, but he still had the biggest smile imaginable on his face. “Thanks, Ar, it’s really nice of you to remember that about me.”

Yikes, Levi really needed to get his jealousy under control. It was the idiot’s _best friend_ , of _course_ he’d get him the perfect present, and of _course_ Eren would love it. There wasn’t anything more than that, and although the rational side of Levi’s brain knew that perfectly well, the much stupider and oddly possessive bits of him wanted to glare at someone for no good reason. He shouldn’t have even been jealous in the first place! When the fuck had his life even come to this?! Why couldn’t he just go back to the simple cycle of sitting around and killing titans? Ugh, whatever, too late now.

He managed to clear his head in time to watch Eren open the next present, a plain, brown box that he didn’t recognize until he saw the loopy cursive on one side of it. Eyebrows’s present, then. There was only one person he knew with writing that excessive.

To be honest, he was a little wary of what Erwin thought constituted as a “good present”. For all he knew, the commander would craft a painstakingly detailed battle strategy map and claim that it would make a great gift for anyone. Ugh, he could practically _hear_ Erwin’s voice in his head, talking about how “a plan is the most valuable thing anyone can have!”

So, naturally, he was more than a little surprised when Eren pulled an entire fucking blanket out of the medium-ish box, as well as a stack of high-quality parchment and ink pots. Something about calligraphy, probably, but Levi would much rather focus on the fact that Erwin had torn himself away from his precious paperwork long enough to crochet a whole ass blanket out of thick, woollen yarn. He had never seen the commander do something like that for, even for any of his closest friends. (Ok, there was that one time he’d made a sweater for Levi, himself, and Hange, but he’d made them as ugly as fucking possible, citing some sort of winter holiday tradition.) Clearly, there was an ulterior motive here (there was always an ulterior motive with Eyebrows) but Levi could not, for the life of him, think of anything that made sense. Maybe it was an apology of sorts, for the trial mess? No, Erwin had already made it abundantly clear that he’d done what he’d had to, and that he was sorry about it.

Once again, Levi decided to ignore his spiraling thoughts. He really didn’t want to end up with a headache all night.

“This is from Commander Erwin, right?” Eren asked, glancing over at Levi for confirmation, “It’s really fluffy, I love it! I’m definitely gonna say thank you next time I see him.”

One of the brats looked over and gasped. “Wait, that’s from the Commander?! As in, the very intimidating one who- Are we talking about the same person here?! Did he…make that?!?”

Immediately, Eld gave the one who’d asked a very exaggerated head shake, cutting through the air at his neck as he tried to shut him up. Clearly, his squadmates knew Levi too well. There was no way he was giving up a chance to slander Eyebrows’s image justtttt a little bit. Like he’d said in the dungeon, he wasn’t going to let all the Scouts worship the ground he walked on.

“Listen up, little kids,” Levi started, leaning forwards as the other people looked at him with various expressions of offense and dread, “I’m going to teach you something about our lovely Commander. Three somethings, actually, I’m in the mood for a bit of a verbal dunking right now.”

Mikasa started snickering from beside him, where she was still standing directly behind Eren. She was probably thinking about their little dungeon field trip too.

“Number one: Yes, chances are he made that blanket. The man fucking crochets, I’ve seen him do it a few too many times for my own mental health. Do you know how hard it is to sit straight-faced through a lecture on battle plans when one of the most politically powerful people in the military is stress knitting like a fucking _grandmother_?! If any of you ever make it to a Senior Officer meeting, I will fucking _pay_ to see the looks on your faces when you see that shit.”

The younger Scouts all looked varying degrees of uneasy, as though talking about the commander would summon him and they’d get smote for blasphemy or something. Walls, this was going to be harder than he thought. Well at least Hange was cackling again, maybe that would convince them that a healthy level of disrespect was perfectly normal.

“Secondly,” he continued, allowing the barest hint of a smile so that he looked a bit less…Levi, “If, for whatever Walls-awful reason, you still want to suck up to him, I suggest you memorize the entire dictionary. And brush up on your tactical thinking, though some of you are fine with that as it is. Yes, I’m talking about you, Bookworm. If any of you ever have the misfortune of being caught in a supposedly casual conversation with him, pray to whatever you believe in that your brain can handle whatever ‘intellectual’ shit he throws at you. I’m thoroughly convinced that if he found someone who could out-manipulate him, he’d kiss them square on the fucking mouth. Do with that what you will, I’m just here to fuck shit up and try not to die.”

There were some slight giggles at that, as well as some lighthearted Armin dragging. Well, it wasn’t really dragging since they were technically praising his intelligence, but still. An improvement for sure.

“And finally, I’d like you all to know that… I want to say it was 2 expeditions ago? 3? Lost count, I don’t know. Anyways, he ran into a fucking tree because he was too busy trying to yell orders at some poor, half-deaf cadet. I haven’t the faintest idea how he didn’t see an entire fucking tree, but he did, and smacked right into it. Funniest shit I’ve seen in a while. Oh, and then, when Zofia asked how he got injured, he had the audacity to lie his ass off and say it was because a flying branch hit him. She didn’t believe him, of course, but he stuck to it even as she pulled splinters out of his skin.”

The brats tried to hold on, they really did. Unfortunately for them, Sasha cracked at just the right (or wrong, technically) moment, leading to a cascade of wheezing laughter and exaggerated hand motions as they tried to imagine the scene. Good. Levi’s job was done, for the most part. Just one more thing he had to clarify, so that nobody got any weird ideas about treason or something.

“Now, you all need to know that I don’t hate Eyebrows. Quite the opposite, actually. He’s a decent man, a damn good soldier, and apparently he’ll be a _wonderful_ grandmother one day, even if he’s a pain in my ass sometimes. Well, my head, actually, I get a migraine if I listen to him for more than an hour. But, and I cannot stress this enough to you brats, he is _not_ perfect, and he _certainly_ shouldn’t be idolized or worshipped. He’s a human, he makes shitty mistakes all the time. I mean, he left my ass in a fucking forest, that’s a pretty big fuck-up. A flare would have been nice, at least, but noooooo, let’s just _leave _a _Captain_ to fend for himself in _titan territory_.”__

____

Even with the giggles brought on by Levi’s dry sarcasm, most of the young adults looked like they were genuinely contemplating what he’d said. Well, at least he knew their brains worked.

____

“Anyways,” he sighed, silently enjoying the fact that he’d been successful, “I’ve gotten in my daily slander now, so let’s continue with the presents.”

____

He glanced over at Eren, who looked…was he angry? No, the brunette was always very loud about his anger, so it probably wasn’t that. Sad? No, not that either, Eren got all whiny when he was sad. Or sometimes quiet, but that was still different than whatever his was. Ugh, whatever, he could ask him about it later, once they were away from everyone else. Walls, he couldn’t wait for some fucking privacy.

____

“Any suggestions on which one I should do next?” Eren asked, eyes re-sparkling themselves as he grinned at Levi, clearly trying to figure out which present was his.

____

Did the brat really think he’d let him off that easily?! No way in hell, it was so much fun to watch him struggle.

____

Deliberately, he pulled a blue-wrapped box out of the pile and handed it to Eren. He had no fucking idea who’s it was, but the brunette was practically buzzing with excitement. Oh, this was going to be fucking hilarious. “Try this one.”

____

Levi watched, struggling to maintain a straight face as Eren carefully tore off the wrapping paper, before tearing off the small piece of tape that held the box itself shut. The contents made Levi wish that it _had_ been his present.

____

At first, it looked like another blanket, or maybe just a folded piece of fabric. But, as Eren unfurled it and laid it on the table, it turned out to be something way fucking cooler than that. 

____

It was about a meter long, and two thirds of a meter across, making it look like a long rectangle. The background was a faded, nighttime forest done in green, quite like Eren’s eyes, minus the fleck of blue and the perpetual glimmer of determination. On it, in beautifully done stitches, was a russet colored stag, in front of the shadowy trees. The deer looked like it held the full moon within its antlers, and Levi could see threads of silver that made it look like the glow from it was being cast onto the animal’s head and body. The level of detail on it was impressive, as well as the odd, looping borders that wound themselves into intricate knots at the corners.

____

“Uh, that one’s ours.” someone said, snapping Levi out of his admiration. “Me and Bert’s. He did most of the work, though, I just got the stuff.”

____

Hold on. This was made by fucking Sweater and Reindeer?! They really were fucking weirdos, though apparently also quite talented with a needle and embroidery thread.

____

“This… it’s beautiful.” Eren beamed, unleashing the full force of his sunshine smile onto the two boys. They both looked a bit dizzy. Levi couldn’t blame them. “You guys are really good at this! It’s so cool and detailed, thank you so much! I love it!!”

____

Beanpole smiled softly, flushing a little from the praise. “I’m glad you like it, Eren.”

____

Somewhere, in the back of Levi’s mind, it occurred to him that the 104th had only seen Eren as a deer once, and that was two days ago. There was no way that someone would’ve been able to make something that detailed in such a short amount of time. So, unless the deer thing was a coincidence, these two knew more than they reasonably should have. Levi’s mental Suspects list grew.

____

Unfortunately, he couldn’t confront them for the time being, so he shoved his concerns aside as Eren reached for another box, clearly having learned his lesson from the last one. For a second, Levi was worried that he was going to grab his present, but he went for the one on top of it instead.

____

Petra claimed it before he could even open it. Of course she would tie hers up with a ribbon, she was nice like that. 

____

Apparently, she had good taste in gifts too, because her present was an intricately carved wooden hairbrush, along with a couple bars of soap that Eren seemed to like the smell of. Levi identified the first as lavender mixed with a bit of pine. An interesting combination, but it worked rather well. The second was orange blossom and ginger, which created a spicy, slightly floral scent that fit Eren perfectly. Nice to know at least _one_ of his squadmates had listened to his lectures on the ways to identify a good soap. So long as Birdbrain remembered how to operate a shower, they’d both probably get used a lot in the future.

____

After he thanked her, Eren went for the next one, a rather big box that was left untied and unwrapped. Again, his fingers hovered over Levi’s for a split second longer than the others, just enough to make him worry a little bit before moving on. Whatever, he was probably just trying to see which one got a reaction out of him, so he didn’t even allow his heart rate to change. No super-sense cheating allowed, not if Levi could help it.

____

The shifter grinned when he looked inside of the box, eyes glinting mischievously. Oh, _joy_ , this was going to be fun. 

____

“Captain, we’d like to apologize in advance,” Oluo muttered, avoiding his eyes even though he was openly smirking, “We kinda ran out of ideas, this was the best we could think of.”

____

If _Oluo_ was apologizing, this was bad fucking news.

____

“Eren, what’s in the box?” he asked, already dreading the answer.

____

Mikasa looked over her brother’s shoulder as he held the box protectively against his chest, leaning away from Levi so that he couldn’t see what was inside. She gasped, then started laughing, hand covering her mouth as she looked between the two of them, grinning.

____

There was a tiny sound, soft and curious, and it definitely wasn’t human.

____

Walls take pity on his poor, horribly unlucky soul.

____

“Is that a fucking cat?!”

____

Eren started giggling, still leaning as far away as possible, practically on Armin’s lap as he tried to scoot further back. “Well………… I mean, technically, she’s a kitten. Very soft and cuddly, I can tell. I’m keeping her and you can’t convince me otherwise.”

____

“Sweet Maria…” Levi groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as the traitors started snickering around him, “Eren, you-”

____

“Nuh-uh! Just look at her, Levi!! She has such cute little feet and very pretty fur! How can you say no to that?!” 

____

Eren carefully put the box on his lap and moved back to Levi’s side, gesturing for him to look at the animal inside of it. Of course, everyone else did too, all leaning over and around the table to get a look.

____

The kitten was incredibly small, no bigger than Levi’s hand at the most. It, or she, as Eren had called her, although how he could tell from this angle Levi had no idea, had fuzzy looking grey fur with black stripes on her face and tiny tail, which was flicking curiously as she looked at all the new faces. Maybe a few weeks old then, since her eyes hadn’t changed colors, but they were open, so she definitely wasn’t a newborn. She started purring as Levi looked at her skeptically, headbutting into his face as a demand for attention.

____

“Awww, see, she likes you!!” Eren grinned, gently reaching in a hand to pet the cat since Levi didn’t, “You can be her dad, since she’s already decided on keeping you!”

____

“What?! No way! Besides, if you like her so much, then you be the dad!”

____

“So what I’m getting from that is if I agree to be a father, we can keep her!!”

____

“Oh bloody fucking Walls,” Levi muttered, before looking at the culprits of this whole mess, “You three. Explain what the fuck you were thinking, right now.”

____

Gunther, Eld, and Oluo started looking at each other furiously, trying to get out of talking.

____

“Well, you see, the cat that lives near my house started getting really fat…”

____

“Not that much detail, Gunther,” the captain sighed, putting his head in his hands.

____

“Right. So, Petra was telling us yesterday that we were going to a birthday party for the bird kid, and _she_ said to get presents! It’s her fault, really!” Petra rolled her eyes, completely ignoring the pleading look that Gunther was giving her. “But none of had any idea what to get him!! We didn’t have a clothing size, weapon preference, nothing! So _Eld_ -”

____

“Hey!! Don’t blame this on me, _you’re_ the one with 8 foster kittens you’re trying to get rid of!”

____

“You guys hear something? No? Me either. Ok, well _Eld_ joked that we should give him a cat. Because of the bird thing.” He paused, thinking. “That was… a lot funnier yesterday… Um, but anyways, I agreed that it was pretty hilarious, so we chose one of the kittens and made sure that she was all healthy. We took her to Hange and everything!!”

____

“You were in on this, Four-Eyes?!?!”

____

The scientist didn’t say anything, they were too busy letting the kitten sniff their hand inquisitively.

____

“Captain, we didn’t know that you were… _living_ with him!! We would have never considered it if we knew!”

____

For some reason, Gunther’s words ticked Levi off. Everyone had to go around _assuming_ things about him and Eren, and he was getting really fucking sick of it. It didn’t even matter what they assumed anymore; it was just annoying to have anyone assume anything about their relations with each other. (One might even say their relation _ship_ , but Levi most definitely wasn’t going to start thinking like that.) Hell, someone could have guessed that one of their favorite colors was yellow, and Levi might have decked them.

____

“C’mon, Leviiii,” Eren pleaded, pulling the captain out of his thoughts, “You keep complaining about hearing mice in the barracks. She can eat the mice, if there are any!! And I can ask her really nicely not to shed on your stuff, so you won’t have to worry about the fur! Be the other parent, come onnnnnnnn! I don’t want her to just have me and a whole bunch of aunts and uncles! And a Hange too, of course!!”

____

Levi made the horrible mistake of accidentally looking into Eren’s eyes. Why were they so fucking hypnotic?! It was really unfair how the brunette could influence him with just a pout.

____

Dimly, he realized that Eren had insinuated that Levi would be more than just an ‘uncle’, that he’d be the other parent in this situation. Maybe- No. Nope, it was because the cat had imprinted on him or something. That’s the only reason Eren wanted to co-parent with him.

____

“You better fucking stick to that shedding rule, brat,” he sighed, finally bending to the shifter’s will.

____

Eren looked like his face was going to split in half from smiling so wide. “Really?! Yes!!! I’m so excited. What should we name her?”

____

“I already regret this…” Levi muttered, before raising his voice again, “I’m shit with names, you choose.”

____

“That’s no fun! We have to agree! How about-”

____

Levi cut him off with a yawn, refusing to let Eren start rattling off stupid names. “Listen, finish your presents. I’m tired as fuck and now apparently we have to find a place for the cat to sleep before I can.”

____

Of course Eren would get so distracted by a kitten that he’d forget that it was his birthday. He looked over at the depleted pile, which only had 3 presents left on it, besides Levi’s.

____

“Do mine next!” Hange said, passing him a small box that was wrapped in something that looked suspiciously like bandages. “It goes with the precious little bean you’re holding!!”

____

The shifter laughed as he managed to get the package out of the odd wrapping. After a second or two of fumbling, he managed to get it open, revealing a tiny, belled collar, along with a bag that presumably held some sort of cat treats. He offered one to the “precious little bean”, who seemed to enjoy it, much to both his and Hange’s delight. 

____

“Thank you, Hange! Would you like to be part of the family too?”

____

The scientist wiped a fake tear from their eye. “I’ve never wanted anything so badly. Well, except a titan who understands me and won’t kill me. But I already got that!! So yes! I will gladly be…hmm… _Ankle_ Hange!! Not the body part, it’s getting an entirely new meaning now!”

____

“You made that up on the spot, didn’t you?” Levi raised an eyebrow, only to sigh quietly when they nodded enthusiastically.

____

“Alright! Only three left!” Eren said, still grinning. Did his cheeks hurt? They had to, he’d been smiling for, like, 15 minutes straight. “My chances are improving by the second!!”

____

Mikasa cut him off from grabbing a present on his own by passing him hers. “Not if I can help it, it won’t.”

____

Eren looked torn between grabbing one of the others, now that he had a 50/50 shot, but he seemed excited about seeing his sister’s present, so he hastily opened the small box she’d given him.

____

Once again, Levi knew what was inside, but he still very much wanted to see Eren’s reaction. As the shifter pulled out the music box inside, he thought he was going to go blind from all the joy lighting up his face. Mikasa reached over and twisted the tiny handle, then opened the lid, allowing a tinkling melody to start playing. Surprisingly, Levi recognized the song; it was a common lullaby that mothers often used to get their children to sleep. He couldn’t remember the words, but from the way the brunette was humming, Eren certainly did. Perhaps his mother had sung it for him as a child. No wonder Mikasa had practically dived for that specific music box in the shop.

____

“I got you candy, too, but I heard that song and I thought of Carla…” she trailed off, not wanting to bring up any bad memories.

____

Eren kept smiling, but it got a bit more soft around the edges. “Thank you, ‘Kasa. It really makes me happy.”

____

“Of course,” she said absentmindedly, allowing her brother to slip past her defenses and grab the second to last present.

____

Only Birdbrain would get the wrong fucking one, even when there were only two options. Levi fought to keep a smile off of his face as Eren started opening the thankfully foreign package.

____

Oh, it just got better and better. The present contained _tea_ , which was what Levi had been originally planning on getting him. Apparently some brat’d had the same idea. The brunette looked so victorious, thinking that he had finally figured out what Levi had gotten him. Well, he couldn’t let him think he’d won, so he allowed a half-smirk to flash over his face, just long enough to show his amusement at the other’s mistakes.

____

Eren looked at him. He looked at the tea. He looked back up. His eyebrows adorably scrunched together in confusion. Then, the realization set in, and _holy shit the look on his face_. Pure fucking gold.

____

“Connie and Sasha got you tea too,” Horse-Face sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “But Sasha… accidentally mixed up the sugar tin and the tea tins, so… yeah. Sorry.”

____

“No, it’s fine, mistakes happen!! I bet Sasha hated throwing away the ruined food, though.”

____

Said girl groaned and hung her head, either out of respect for the fallen foodstuffs, or regret for having ruined it in the first place. Probably both, honestly.

____

“Okay, last one!!” Eren yelled, already grinning from ear to ear, “And I already know who it belongs to!”

____

“Yeah, ‘cause you eliminated all the other ones, dumbass.”

____

The brunette waved Levi off with a “Details, details,” as he figured out how to work the flaps in order to open the stabbed- sorry, aerated box.

____

Eventually, he managed to get it open, but the card that Levi had put in there was on top, adding a few more seconds until he could see what it was. Of course, because Eren was curious, he read the card, face lighting up as he scanned it over.

____

‘ _Happy 18th birthday, Eren. I’m glad you didn’t have to spend it alone in the forest._

_____ _

_____ _

_Post-Script: Please try not to kill these, okay? That would suck_.’

____

Levi knew what he’d written, but he was honestly more conscious about what he _hadn't_ said. Yes, he was glad that Eren wasn’t alone in a forest somewhere, but he was even _more_ glad that he got to spend it with him. He was silently saying that he was happy to have found the shifter, and that he was more than grateful to have been found by said person. Some part of him hoped Eren got the message, since he wasn’t bold enough to directly write his feelings down.

____

A vague sense of anxiety made itself at home within his stomach as Eren smiled and slipped the card back inside, before reaching in to take out the small honeysuckle plant. Thankfully, it seemed to be in perfect health, not even the slightest bit wilted.

____

He… well, he really didn’t know the kind of reaction he was expecting. That painfully sincere grin, though? The shining look in Eren’s eyes as he gently caressed the small, white flowers? Levi most definitely wasn’t prepared for that. It took him a solid three seconds to process it, actually, and by the time he did, he couldn’t stop the blush creeping over his face. He blamed it on the lights.

____

“Honeysuckle and Aster, huh?” Eren asked, leaning almost uncomfortably close. Or maybe he had only moved a slight bit and Levi was just panicking. That was much more likely. “How did you know?”

____

Levi shifted his gaze over to Armin, desperate to look anywhere but Eren’s fucking eyes. “Blondie said you liked flowers. I thought those wouldn’t die for at least a month or two, unless you fuck up really bad. Besides, it lasts longer than tea, right?”

____

The brunette smiled fondly, head tilting slightly to the side as he watched Levi avoid eye contact. “Yeah, they do. Pretty hard to get rid of, actually, even if you ignore them for a bit.”

____

…Were they still talking about flowers?

____

“Just don’t let the fucking cat destroy them,” he huffed, trying to get a fraction of the attention off of him. “Speaking of, where is she gonna sleep? If she meows all night I will not hesitate to go back on this deal.”

____

Did Eren look almost…disappointed? 

____

“Yeah, we should figure that stuff out pretty soon,” he sighed before turning back to the other members of the table, who were looking at the pair far too intently for Levi’s tastes, “Is everyone ready to go back and sleep?”

____

Horse-face smirked, leaning back in his chair so that it only stood on its back legs. “Oh, is that what-”

____

“Yes!! Sleep, is very, very important!” Hange practically yanked them out of their seats, while motioning for Armin to carry Eren’s newly acquired loot. “Off you two pop, find a spot for the sweet little kitty cat. We’ll be there in a few, after cleanup!”

____

Right, because that wasn’t weird at all. The scientist was plotting something, he was sure of it. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to find out what was going on, because Eren started walking off towards the barracks, instinctively making Levi follow. Bookworm came too, although he was lagging behind a bit, probably from trying to balance all the stuff in his hands.

____

“So I was thinking, maybe make her a little spot in that empty corner? For now, she can stay in the box, but we can get her a real bed later.”

____

Oh, right, there were other, more important things that Levi was supposed to think about. “Fine by me, just make sure she can get out if she needs to. I’m not particularly fond of waking up to the smell of cat piss.”

____

Eren laughed, shifting the box that said kitten was in over to his left side, freeing up his right arm. “You do know that cats are good at jumping, right? I’m sure she’ll be fine and perfectly well-behaved.”

____

“You say that now…” Levi shook his head, still trying to get used to the concept of co-parenting a cat with Eren. “But you’ll have to give her to me long enough to shower. I’m not letting you get into bed with whipped cream in your fucking hair.”

____

“Well, you’re the one who put it there!!”

____

“Yes, and? You got frosting on my face, I’m going to have to shower too.”

____

“That’s differenttttttt,” Eren whined, pushing playfully at Levi’s shoulder. “You were going to shower anyways!! And it’s just a little spot on your face that will come off really easily!”

____

“Do you want me to go back there and get some frosting to put on your face? I can guarantee you, it’s far worse than you make it sound.”

____

“No!” Quickly, the shifter reached over and grabbed Levi’s hand, interlacing their fingers so that he couldn’t follow through with his threat. “Besides, we’re almost there anyways, it would be a lot of effort to turn back now!”

____

‘ _Yeah, it’ll be a lot of fucking effort alright, considering I can barely fucking breathe at the moment._ ’

____

“Whatever, Birdbrain, just, uhm, make sure to wash your hair really fucking well.”

____

Eren grinned, clearly having noticed the captain’s little stumble. “Of course, leannán.”

____

“What the fuck does that even fucking mean?” Levi muttered, halfheartedly trying to pull his hand away, “You’ve said it 3 times now and I’m still fucking clueless.”

____

Of course, the brunette held his hand captive. Not that he really minded, but he wasn’t going to let Eren know that. “It’s no fun if I tell you!! You’ll figure it out someday! Or maybe I’ll give in before that, but it’d take at least a year before that happens.”

____

“I could just ask your sister, you know.”

____

Eren gasped, eyes going wide. “She would never!”

____

“Oh?” Levi asked, raising an eyebrow, “Why not?”

____

“B-because!! She’s trustworthy! Most of the time.” Eren paled even more, suddenly avoiding Levi’s bemused eyes. “Maybe just…don’t ask her.”

____

They turned the last corner, leaving the barracks only a few meters away.

____

“Better hope I forget before tomorrow, then,” he smirked, practically pushing the brunette inside before taking the gift-filled box from Armin, who grinned and started heading back, presumably to help with cleanup, “Now go. Shower. I’ll take the cat upstairs and put her in the corner.”

____

Eren nodded, but kept holding onto Levi’s hand, preventing him from leaving.

____

“What is it now, brat?” he sighed, though there was no real annoyance in the words.

____

“There was a- I wanted to-” Eren shook his head, trying to focus. “Petra said that…… something about affection, what was it again?”

____

Petra?? Why was Eren talking to her for “something about affection”?

____

“Oh!! I remember!”

____

Carefully, Eren put the cat and her box down, making her jostle slightly in her sleep. When he stood up, he used the momentum to stand up a little straighter than he normally would, putting him on perfect eye-level with Levi. It also brought him a decent chunk closer, leaving practically no space between them as Eren attempted to rebalance himself.

____

Except, as Levi realized a bit too late, he wasn’t actually rebalancing. He was leaning forwards, just close enough to place the briefest of pecks onto Levi’s fucking _lips_ , before grinning and running off to the showers at nearly the speed of fucking light.

____

“For the flowers!” Eren called over his shoulder, leaving it to echo through the halls as Levi stood there like a shell-shocked dumbass, “Love you too!!”

____

What.

____

The.

____

_Fuck._

____

_Holyshitholyshitholyshit._

____

What in the everloving FUCK had just fucking happened?!?!

____

Did Eren just- Kiss him?! And then run away?!? And then say that he loved him?!?!!?!? No, there was just- Oh please, in the name of the fucking Walls- How did- Wha-

____

Sweet motherfucking Maria, Levi’s brain was melting into a pile of mush and dribbling out of his fucking ears. His lungs started hurting from the lack of air. Actually, his whole chest hurt. His heart couldn’t decide on pounding like a fucking jackrabbit or stopping entirely. Similarly, his stomach was in a complete free fall, and his muscles felt frozen in place.

____

As his mind veryyyyyyyy slowly tried to piece itself back together, one thing flashed across his mind before anything else:

____

He and Petra were going to have fucking WORDS about this.

____

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

____

Once his brain had the decency to kindly begin working again, albeit rather numbly, Levi managed to remember that he had a job to do. Good, that gave him something to focus on that wouldn’t send his entire body into a shock coma.

____

Carefully, he scooped up both of the boxes, desperately hoping that his hands weren’t shaking too badly. Bloody hell, he was 90% sure his arms felt like they were going to start twitching uncontrollably if he didn’t get answers within the next hour. Part of him debated running after Eren to avoid this, but walking in on the shifter showering would probably shatter his already fragile mental state.

____

He tried to use the cat as a distraction. It worked, somewhat. For a bit, he got to focus on making a suitable sleeping spot for her. Then, he continued looking at the small animal, concentrating on literally anything that wasn’t Eren. He started petting her absentmindedly, causing her to start purring lightly. That worked somewhat as a way to ground himself, at least.

____

“Chaton,” he cooed, going with his instincts so that he could have a distraction for a bit longer. He didn’t even notice which language he was speaking in. The word vomit was better than breaking down into the trembling mess that he felt like inside. “Petit chaton. Petiiiiiiiiiite. Miniscule. Min…...ou? Petit minou. Good name. Min-ou. Minnie. Min-Min. Minerrrrrva. Petite fille, si doux. Si, si doux. Trés bien.” (Cat, little cat. Litttttleeeeee. Tiny. Kit…ty? Little kitty. [english bit] Little/baby girl, so soft. So, so soft. Very good.)

____

Levi wasn’t particularly aware of what he was saying. All he knew was that it was very important to baby talk the cat so that she kept purring. She had a good purr. Very light and trill-y.

____

He was dimly aware of hearing the door creak open and then close behind him, but he was too busy telling the kitty how nice her eyes were, in both languages. There was a soft laugh and the dripping of water droplets onto stone, which was barely enough to make his head turn.

____

“I told you you’d warm up to her,” Eren murmured, a soft smile on his lips. Oh, Levi could barely _think_ about his lips. His heart rate kept skyrocketing whenever he accidentally looked at them. Unfortunately, there weren’t many other safe places to look. His shirt was untucked and loose, especially at the neckline, where Levi could see his collarbones rather clearly. Worse, his sleeves were undone, giving him adorable little sweater paws. And his hair- Oh Rose, his fucking _hair_ \- was hanging in wet locks around his face, and thankfully dairy free.

____

Levi somehow managed to make his vocal cords form something other than sweet nothings meant for a little feline. “You gonna tell me what the hell you did to me?”

____

“Petra said if you humans really, really like someone, or love them, then you put your lips together.” Eren offered, as if it explained everything, “You said I needed a Human-ing class, so I asked her to tell me how to say I love someone! Easy peasy!”

____

“You………hold on here……you………………………… _love me_?”

____

“I think so, yeah!”

____

“And you’re okay with me……?”

____

“Of course, Levi. I _gladly_ accept your aster and honeysuckle.”

____

“Oh.” Levi blinked, entirely unsure of what the fuck else to say. “How did you know?”

____

Eren looked at him, clearly a bit confused, “Do you mean the flowers? One of my books is about what the symbolism is for different plants, as well as their practical uses.”

____

“That’s- I- those fucking friends of yours, I swear to the fucking Walls.”

____

“You didn’t know?!? It was an accident?!” Levi dimly registered that both he and Eren were paler than they should have been. “Levi… honeysuckle stands for affection and devotion. And then you gave me seeds of aster, literally handing me the chance to _grow love_!”

____

“That’s news to me.” The captain shook his head, sticking his gaze to the stony floor as his voice grew steadily quieter. “I’m sorry. You weren’t supposed to find out like this. It was supposed to go away eventually, and then it didn’t, and now I feel like a complete piece of shit.”

____

“So…………you don’t love me?”

____

His eyes snapped up, chest seizing painfully at the hurt in Eren’s voice. “Never said I don’t, idiot.”

____

“Oh! Good!”

____

There was a long pause. Levi hadn’t expected to ever get this far, and apparently neither did Eren. He certainly wanted to stand up and do something reckless, but he was still holding himself back, like he was afraid that he’d fuck up somehow. With his luck, he probably would.

____

“What do we do now?”

____

“Dunno. Go to bed, I guess, pass out and deal with this in the morning. Or we could talk about it right now, if you’d prefer, but I’m not exactly the most functional-” Levi vaguely gestured at his head. “Up here.”

____

“That’s fine,” Eren said, gently walking over and sitting down at Levi’s side, “I think I’d like to be near you right now, at least. Is that okay?”

____

Maybe the shifter was better at reading him than he’d thought.

____

“That…sounds nice.” The words felt odd in Levi’s mouth, but it was true. “Don’t wake up the cat though.”

____

The brunette hummed and leaned onto Levi’s shoulder, a silent gesture of comfort that made his heart flutter slightly. It was such a weird sensation, but he found that he didn’t completely hate it. At least he didn’t have to maintain eye contact with Eren like this. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do that without turning redder than a fucking strawberry.

____

“I like this,” Eren whispered, practically pulling the thoughts from Levi’s head, “We’ve done this before, but this time is……different. A good different.”

____

Levi didn’t say anything, but he tentatively slipped an arm around Eren’s waist, pulling him closer. He’d always been better at speaking through actions, and he was incredibly lucky that his shapeshifter was so good at deciphering them.

____

“Levi?”

____

“Hm?”

____

Eren’s skin got a few degrees warmer against his. “Would you mind if…I, er, we……uhm…”

____

This whole ‘reading each other’ thing went two ways, apparently. Thank the Walls, Levi was generally shit with figuring out emotions.

____

“You want to kiss? Properly? The first one was shit, honestly.”

____

“Shut up! I didn’t even know if I was doing the right thing!!” Eren elbowed him gently, probably putting like a child. “I still don’t even know what I’m doing!”

____

“What, you think I do? Daft brat.”

____

“I dunno! I just assumed it was, like, a human thing that everyone knew.”

____

Levi shrugged. “Most people can, I guess. I just happen to have the charisma and appeal of a fucking rock.”

____

Eren shook his head vehemently, hair tickling the side of Levi’s neck. “That’s not true. You’re positively charming, leannán.”

____

Fucking blush reflex struck again. Why couldn’t he handle just a simple fucking compliment?!

____

“You need your head checked, Birdbrain. I don’t think any sane person looks at me and says that I’m ‘ _charming_ ’.” He reached up to flick Eren’s forehead, attempting to reset his scrambled brain.

____

The brunette wriggled around, turning so that he was facing Levi’s side. He had a grin on his face that was a sure sign of trouble, but the captain couldn’t really bring himself to care.

____

“I’m only insane because you drive me crazyyyyy,” he teased, voice becoming like something straight out of a cheesy romance play.

____

Levi sighed, burying his head in his hands. “Fuckin’ weirdo.”

____

Eren laughed at the captain’s distress. “I’m _your_ weirdo, though! You can’t escape me!”

____

“Please, Walls, what did I do to deserve this shit?”

____

“It’s your fault for being so-”

____

Without thinking, Levi yanked Eren forwards by his collar, drowning out whatever cheesy shit he was going to say by unceremoniously smashing their lips together.

____

Holy fucking _shit_. Remind him again why he hadn’t done this sooner?!

____

Kissing Eren was like fucking _fireworks_ exploding in his chest. And on his skin. Everywhere, really. Fuck, his rational brain had evaporated with the first explosion of feeling. He couldn’t find it in himself to care, he was too lost in the overwhelming urge to get more of the intoxicating closeness. 

____

For a terrifying second, Eren didn’t do anything, just sat there in shock at the impulsive contact. Then, carefully, he brought his hands up and wrapped them around the back of Levi’s neck, fingers brushing over the short hair of his undercut. They were a bit shaky and almost fever-hot, but that didn’t matter in the slightest. Levi took the gesture as a go ahead, and only allowed himself another moment of hesitation before he gave into his instincts, letting whatever natural romantic clue-in he somehow had dictate his actions.

____

Carefully, he leaned closer to the suddenly pliant brunette, hands moving to cup his face instead of harshly grip his collar. It was softer like that, and Levi found he quite liked it. He’d been a bit put off by the entire notion of kissing in the past; it quite honestly sounded dumb, unhygienic, and a good way to get sick. But, as he’d said before, pretty much every rational bone in his body had been tossed out the window the second he felt Eren’s soft lips start responding to his with little movements that drove him fucking insane. He could get fucking pneumonia for all he cared, the bubbly feeling that left him dizzy and light-headed more than made up for it.

____

Neither of them were particularly experienced with any sort of romantic shenanigans, so they had little to no fucking clue what they were supposed to do, but that was perfectly, 100%, totally fine. Levi was more than content to just be connected like this, hidden away from the world, free to enjoy each other’s company without judgement. Nobody was going to interrupt them here, and if they did, Levi would not hesitate to put them on solo cleaning duty for a month. 

____

Unfortunately, the human body needed oxygen to continue living, and no matter how much Levi was convinced that he could survive wholly on pure Eren in that moment, his lungs had objections to not receiving air for more than… however long they’d been attached to each other. It felt like an eternity of fireworks and soft touches, and yet it seemed almost painfully short, so he didn’t have an accurate estimate on how long it had been.

____

Reluctantly, he pulled back, but just enough to breathe. There was no way in hell he was about to completely disentangle himself from Eren just yet, or maybe ever again.

____

“Brat,” he murmured, forehead still pressed to the flushed brunette’s, “Not to be a sap, you’re enough of one on your own, but do you have _any_ idea how long I’ve wanted to do that?”

____

Eren giggled and pressed a butterfly kiss on the tip of Levi’s nose, wha absolutely _melted_ at the gesture. “I might have some idea, yes. Worth the wait?”

____

“If I say no, will you let me do it again?”

____

“What happened to asking nicely for things?” The shifter grinned, pulling back slightly, much to Levi’s displeasure. “Or wanting to go to sleep?”

____

He allowed Eren to pull him to his feet so that they could make their way over to the bed. It was a lot more comfortable than the stone floor, at least. Levi had been sitting on too many hard surfaces for the majority of the day, so the squishy mattress felt fucking amazing in comparison.

____

“That was before you decided to give me a fucking heart attack, Birdbrain,” he said, flopping backwards onto the bed with a soft sigh, “Though I am still really fucking exhausted, so I won’t object to passing out right now.”

____

Since Eren was a little shit, he sat cross-legged on the spot above Levi’s hipbones, leaning over so that their heads were only a few centimeters apart. Walls, no normal human would be that fucking light. It was a bit weird, honestly, but at least the shifter wasn’t crushing any vital organs that he may have been sitting on.

____

With Levi effectively pinned under him, (he probably could have escaped if he tried, but he didn’t have the energy) Eren propped his head up on his hands and looked down at the captain, who was rolling his eyes. Unfortunately, the slight curve of his lips gave him away. Oh well.

____

“Now will you object to sleeping?”

____

“Not particularly, no.” Levi reached up and knocked one of Eren’s arms aside, making him collapse onto his chest. “You weigh the same as a fucking paperweight. I could pass out right now and be perfectly comfortable.”

____

“You’re no funnnnnn,” Eren pouted, but he made no move to get back up.

____

“Fine then, a deal. We both get some fuckin’ sleep, and then I’m yours for tomorrow, alright?” He paused for a moment, trying to get rid of the butterflies in his chest. “That is, if I don’t wake up and find out that this was all a dream.”

____

“Did that kiss feel like a dream to you?”

____

Levi snorted. “Fair point. Now, move for long enough for me to take off my boots.”

____

Eren hesitated a moment before complying, shifting over to his side of the bed as he waited for Levi to get the annoying bits of his outfit off. Once he was done and under the covers, the brunette immediately tucked himself into his usual spot on the captain’s chest. Good, Levi was perfectly content with keeping that part of their dynamic completely the same. Eren _belonged_ in that little hollow, plain and simple.

____

What was new, however, was the soft little kisses that were being pressed into his neck and jawline. They tickled a bit, but he made no move to stop them, mostly because he was too busy trying to keep himself breathing.

____

Once Eren deemed his job of running his lips over every available inch of skin finished, he hummed and let his head fall onto the mattress, clearly more tired than he let on.

____

“Sweet dreams,” he yawned, sleepiness already creeping into his borderline angelic voice, “See you in the morning, love.”

____

Fucking Walls, who gave him the right?! Levi was using all of his self-control not to let his brain go into overload.

____

“Night, mon cœur. Hope you grow some brain cells, you sappy brat.”

____

The last thing he heard was a very faint and slurred, “Shudduppppp” before sleep pulled him into its familiar abyss.

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not me making up a random gender neutral term for aunt/uncle, when theres already, like, 5 in circulation,,,,,, but like calling someone an ankle is iconic so I'm keeping it! Also, the cat was entirely unplanned, but now she's an essential part of the story, so :P. Still thinking of names, though.
> 
> And yes, it took 23 chapters and nearly 13k words, but they finally fucking got there. I'm trying my damn best on the romantic shit, but tbh _I'M_ just as clueless as I made them, so I'm projecting or something, I guess!! Also, I cannot write anything spicy for the LIFE of me, my demi ass either wants to die thinking about it or giggle uncontrollably while trying to type the word "nipple". Jfc, I did it again, laughing in bed at midnight o'clock.
> 
> Anyways!! I really hope you liked it, lemme know what you think if you are inclined to do such things! Thanks for reading, and have a great day/night!! Happy Valentines day! (shit this is actually good timing, then, wonderful)


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy oh boy I sure do love having a moment's rest after the chaos of the party! -Levi, frantically hoping everything doesn't go to shit again.
> 
> Yeah... sorry Cap'n. We got plot to start moving. Hope yall like magic, worldbuilding, a shit ton of dialogue, and plot twists that were obvious from miles away! And some fluff, of course, because the boys deserve it. ^-^
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> -Non-consensual unconsciousness. That...sounds weird. Makes sense later I swear.
> 
> -Mentions of blood (or lack thereof) and slight burn description.
> 
> -A bitttt of body horror? I guess? Reiner does Weird Shit, ok?
> 
> -Magic, baybeeee!!!
> 
> -Cussing, like, a lot of it. From everyone. Also I gave Ymir an accent for some reason. Felt right, idk.
> 
> -This has Way Too Much Dialogue, but I didn't really have a choice so... sorry!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sTARS AND STONES WHERE DID MY NICE, NEAT LITTLE 4K CHAPTERS GO?!? This one is just about 10k. What the fuck. It's literally mostly dialogue with a bit of thinking and magic. And it was supposed to be longer, too! I have issues, apparently.
> 
> Ok, so there is a MASSIVE pronunciation guide, but since it has spoilers, it's goin at the end. If you want to see it ahead of time, you have officially been warned!
> 
> (Also, voice of doubt here, but sorry that his has so much dialogue! I got a bit carried away, oops.)

Never, in Levi’s life, did he think he’d ever be _excited_ about waking up.

But, guess what the first thought in his head was once his brain started buzzing with more conscious activity? That’s right, it was something along the lines of ‘Oh, lovely! I’m with the most gorgeous person on this bitch of a planet! He also happens to love me!! Better wake up so I can hear his voice.’ 

Of course, he’d never admit to anyone that his stupid mind actually conjured up sappy shit like that, but he was slowly starting to… _not hate_ … having those thoughts in the first place. Eren was his Exception, so he’d decided that he could let himself be a little soft where he was concerned. (Understatement of the century, Levi was a LOT soft where Eren was concerned.)

When he did open his eyes, he was greeted by almost exactly what he’d expected: Eren, still asleep, with his slightly damp hair splayed on the pillow like little tufts of chocolate. Somehow, he’d managed to flip around at some point in the night before, so instead of being their torsos being pressed together, his back was curled comfortably into Levi’s chest. Levi himself had stayed in relatively the same position, but his arms were snaked around Eren’s waist and ribcage, pulling him as close as humanly possible. 

Cautiously, as not to disturb the sleeping brunette, he moved one of his arms so that he could prop up his head, allowing him to see Eren’s unconscious face. It still felt entirely surreal that Levi was even this close to another person, although he certainly wouldn’t mind getting used to seeing this sight when he woke up each morning. He positively adored how peaceful Eren looked when he slept, right down to his slightly agape and drooling mouth. A slight thrill ran through him, one that made his stomach flip when he realized that he had fucking kissed that mouth not even 12 hours earlier. Walls, he was so glad that it hadn’t been a dream, although he could have done without all the blushing and misunderstandings that came before it.

‘ _So, he’s mine now, huh? All the way? I don’t have to worry about if he’ll hate me for what I feel?_ ’

Levi contemplated this belated revelation for a few moments, before deciding that it was a sentiment that he absolutely loved thinking about. Actually, he loved thinking about a lot of things involving Eren, but the idea of their new… whatever the fuck, was very, very good, possibly even the best. He’d be allowed to call Eren his without feeling like an asshole (somewhat, at least, he still didn’t like the feeling that came with his oddly possessive thoughts), and he could even be understandably jealous of people or things. To a certain extent, of course, he was pretty sure that there was still no reason to have gotten cross with Armin for being a good friend last night.

The most important thing he realized he could now do, though, was to finally be able to shower Eren with all the pent-up affection that he’d been concealing for the past few days. And all the frustration from not having to see him for a month, too, but he was more relieved to have him back than anything else. He hated to admit it, but the bright-eyed shapeshifter made him softer than a fucking marshmallow. (A toasted one, the kind that you could stretch and mold if it weren’t so blisteringly hot. Damn it, not the food analogies again.) Really, he’d never once thought he’d want to be as close to someone as he did with Eren, let alone have his mind spin off into conjured snippets of what kind of future he wanted with the brunette. Hell, he’d barely even thought about the future at all until Eren came along, all sunshine-y and adorable, but now he was getting an idiotic smile on his face with every new idea of how they could spend the rest of their lives, hopefully together.

Fucking Walls, he really needed to slow down, he was getting _way_ too ahead of himself. Look at him, being all sappy and hopeful. Disgusting. He absolutely hated how much he loved it.

But, that was what he wanted, right? The end goal of his life had made a dramatic shift over the past two months. He no longer wanted to just go on pushing his luck until he was eventually taken out by a titan. No, he wanted to fucking _live_ now, for Eren, at least. He wanted to give him a fucking garden, out past the Walls, once the titans were all dead of course. Maybe they could find a spot in their little forest. That sounded nice, even if Levi wasn’t entirely sure if he’d ever be able to just settle down so easily. Walls knew he’d get so fucking bored living like that, but if Eren wanted it, he wasn’t going to say no. He could find something else to occupy his time, maybe-

No. Shit. Why was he even fucking considering this? 

He was a fucking Scout, for Walls’ sakes! As in, _over 75% mortality rate per expedition_ kind of Scout. It was a fucking miracle he’d survived this long, and retirement really wasn’t in the cards for anyone like him. They’d fight until they died, or until the pain, grief, and stress got to be too much, and then they’d crack. Levi had seen it happen too many times, had seen people desert, had seen them take matters into their own hands, had watched as they got dragged off to a mental institution where they’d ultimately end up as a husk of their former self. He could spend his time thinking about “the future” once Humanity had eradicated every last one of the titans, and not a second sooner.

In the midst of his internal crisis, some half-asleep, Eren enamored part of his mushy-gushy brain decided to put the idea in his head to press a soft kiss to the shifter’s temple, which he immediately did without a second thought. He was allowed to do shit like that now, right? He’d ask Eren later, when both of them were more awake and ready to talk about whatever this thing between them was. For right now, though, Levi was most certainly not going to pass up the chance to pour out all that suppressed emotion, not when the object of his affections was curled up with him.

At some point while Levi was burying his nose into vaguely honey scented hair, he felt Eren start to stir, probably from the uncharacteristically gentle touches that he was on the receiving end of. His eyes slowly cracked open, emerald irises still bleary with sleep, and he looked curiously back at the person who was practically smothering him with affection.

“Morning, brat,” Levi whispered, free hand moving to ruffle the brunette’s hair a bit, “Welcome back to the land of the living, I thought you were never going to wake up.”

Eren hummed and tilted his head back so that he could partially meet Levi’s eyes. “Don’t stop doing that, it felt nice.”

“Don’t stop doing what?”

“You know what I mean!”

Levi’s lips twitched up at the corners. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about, Birdbrain. Mind clarifying for me?”

The shifter blushed and looked away, pouting slightly, and holy shit was it absolutely adorable. “The… you know. Being all sweet and soft like that. You haven’t done that before. I like it.”

“Sweet? Me? I think you might be delusional.” 

Regardless of his denial, Levi still leaned down and pressed a brief, gentle kiss onto Eren’s glossy lips, too short to be considered anything substantial, but it still made his heart race all the same. He might have been flying in the dark here, but by the fucking _Walls_ , he was going to make an effort to give Eren everything he deserved.

“Do that again,” the shifter ordered, turning so that he properly faced Levi before tacking on a “Pretty please” at the end.

“I suppose you did ask nicely…”

Once again, Levi captured Eren’s lips with his own, this time with actual intent behind it. His arms tightened around the brunette’s waist, pulling him closer as Eren hummed and wrapped his wonderfully soft hands around the back of Levi’s head.

This kiss wasn’t as explosion-y as the one from the night before, but it was still pleasantly warm and bubbly, making the captain’s chest feel like it was going to burst from the rush of absolute giddiness that crashed over him. Yeah, he could _definitely_ get used to this.

“Happy now, brat?” he asked, gently breaking himself away.

“Somewhat, yes, but I wouldn’t mind if you did that at least another ten times.”

Levi rolled his eyes, still smiling faintly. “Demanding, demanding.”

“Not like I can just stop loving you,” Eren said, tucking his face into the captain’s neck so he could kiss along his jaw again, smirking when he felt Levi’s breath catch involuntarily at his words, “I’m allowed to be as demanding as I want, after I spent so long trying to figure out how to get you to take the hint.”

“I didn’t want to scare you off, dumbass. We could have been doing this sooner if you had just said something.”

Eren laughed, tickling Levi’s ear with his breath. “Still shocked we even got this far, honestly, but I’m very glad we did. You’re like a whole other person around me.”

Shit, if that wasn’t the fucking truth, Levi has no idea what is. Not only had he let Eren somehow wreak absolute havoc on his many, many, many boundaries, he was completely willing to let him stay there. In fact, he hadn’t just _allowed_ the shifter to lodge himself somewhere deep within his damn heart, he wanted to make sure Eren knew, with 100% certainty, that he was perfectly welcome there. But, as he’d mentioned before, he had an absolutely horrible habit of making every-fucking-thing he said sound like an insult, meaning he’d have to rely on Eren’s subtext reading skills to get his point across. Until he learned how to force the proper words out, at least.

His brain ended up going with, “Yes, I’ve noticed that too. It’s a bit concerning.”

“It’s not, I think it’s actually really nice. Like I’m special. Be as different as you want towards me.”

“See, shit like that brings me to a very important question. Just how public do you want to make this? I’m pretty sure it breaks a rule or two, but it’s honestly not all that uncommon.” He paused a moment, thinking. “Erwin will probably throw a hissy fit about it though. I mean, a captain and whatever he considers you? He’ll fuckin’ hate it.”

Eren hummed and scrunched his eyebrows together, presumably thinking of an answer to the captain’s question.

“I wouldn’t mind having people know, if you don’t,” he said, letting his head fall onto the pillow once again, “What does Erwin think about me, though?”

“Not really sure. He’s not the type to say anything directly.”

“Understatement of the century. I don’t think he hates me though, since he went through all the effort to keep me alive.”

A brief bout of jealously flashed through Levi, just as irrational as always. “I’d argue that I did a hell of a lot more on that front.”

The shifter laughed, evidently picking up on the slight irritation in Levi’s voice. “I know you did, leannán. You seemed like you were about ready to kidnap me and run off after you punched that priest. Not that I would have objected, but I’m pretty sure you’d get in trouble for that.”

“He fucking deserved it. I would’ve punched all of those smug bastards.”

“Protective, much?”

“Shut up, brat. If I didn’t do it, your sister certainly would have.”

“I wasn’t objecting,” Eren grinned, leaning back so that he could see Levi’s face as he desperately tried to stop the blush threatening to spread over it, “By the way, you still have the frosting on your face.”

“And just whose fault is that?” Levi reached up to the spot on his cheek where Eren had smeared frosting on the previous night. Sure enough, there was still a slight crust of the stuff, a bit below his right eye. He shuddered, absolutely disgusted at the thought of having sugar ingrained into his skin for so long. “Well, since I was too distracted to shower last night, I’ll have to go do that right now.”

“What?! No! Don’t leave, I’m comfortable here!” Eren whined and wrapped his arms around the captain’s chest in an attempt to make him stay.

“Relax, Birdbrain, I’ll see you in the main room in 20 minutes,” he sighed, gently removing the death grip on his torso so that he could get out of bed and stand up. “Take care of the cat while I’m gone.”

The brunette groaned unhappily at the sudden loss of contact, but let him leave all the same. Good, Levi didn’t know if he had it in him to say no to Eren again. Stupid Birdbrain and his stupid pouty face, making him want to do whatever he said. Unfair, really.

Surprisingly, it seemed like he was the only one awake as he wandered his way through the annoyingly long hallways. A couple of them were snoring loudly enough to be heard from outside of their doors. Had the party really been that exhausting for everyone? Levi knew that at least a few of the brats were morning people, but even their doors were still shut when he walked by them. Not like he was complaining, it meant more privacy for him, but it was a bit odd.

It didn’t take him that long to shower, although he would have much preferred a long, decent bath. Honestly, it was a serious fucking tragedy that his tub had been destroyed in the fire. He missed it more and more every day.

Once he was satisfied with how thoroughly he had scrubbed every speck of dirt and dead skin from his body and hair, he enjoyed the warm water for a bit, before turning it off entirely and beginning to dry himself off enough to put on basic clothing. Erwin wasn’t there to be on his ass about full uniforms or appearances, so he could get away with just a plain, white button up and black trousers. It wasn’t like he needed a vest or cloak, the weather had decided to be particularly nice after the blasted snowstorm that nearly buried everyone in its path.

As he made his way down to the main room, he took note of how eerily quiet everything was, save for the occasional snore that echoed enough to be heard from far away. It all seemed almost unnaturally still, a sharp contrast to how loud and lively the place usually was.

He was thinking about mentioning the odd behavior to Eren, but when he walked into the main room, it was clear that saying anything to the shifter would be pretty hard, seeing as he was slouched over and passed out on one of the tables. The cat was curled up near his head, purring loudly enough to be heard from the doorway. It was sort of cute, in a sleepy, domestic sort of way.

Levi sighed and shook his head, silently laughing at how exhausted Eren clearly was. “Birdbrain, if you’re that tired, you should have just stayed in bed.”

No response.

“Eren?”

Still nothing.

Concerned, Levi walked over to the table that the brunette was slumped over. His chest was still clearly rising and falling with his breathing, so he wasn’t dead. Honestly, that was the only thing keeping Levi from a full panic. Eren didn’t wake up, even after being gently shaken, which was more than a little odd, seeing as he was usually a rather light sleeper.

His unresponsiveness left Levi with three possibilities: either the shifter was just really fucking tired, he was pretending to be asleep to get back at Levi for something, or there was some freaky magic shit going on. The third one was certainly less than ideal and more than a little outlandish, but the captain had definitely seen weirder things recently. Besides, it was the only thing he could think of that would somehow put an entire fucking building to sleep (his working theory, since no one else was awake). Well, unless someone had somehow managed to drug everyone except for him, but that was pretty unlikely.

If the problem was, indeed, freaky magic shit, then Levi figured that the only thing able to undo it would be more freaky magic shit. Lucky for him, he had a very friendly and helpful little glow-ball at his disposal. Clara had fixed Eren before, right? Maybe she’d be able to undo whatever had happened to him this time.

Like the day prior, he turned his attention inwards, trying to calm down enough to generate that weird, tingly feeling, the one that generally accompanied Clara’s presence whenever she was visible. Surprisingly, it was practically everywhere, buzzing almost imperceptibly under his skin. He hadn’t noticed it before, but the second he did, it was impossible to ignore, like a particularly catchy tune that can quickly turn annoying.

‘ _Hey, Clara,_ ’ he thought, hoping once again that his intent was clear enough for the wisp to understand, ‘ _can you fix whatever happened to Eren?_ ’

Unlike the night before, there wasn’t any tingle of affirmation, nor a mini-star popping up nearby. However, everything up to his elbows started glowing a warm, hazy gold, which Levi wasn’t quite sure he enjoyed. It was sorta cool to have a personal heater and flashlight, but certainly less so to be one.

Before he could try and figure out what the fuck was going on, he felt his instincts go ballistic, and he just barely turned around in time to feel someone grab his shoulder to drag him across the room. They, or she, since he could recognize his assailant as the supposedly vanished Ms. Emo, pulled him… hold on, where were they going, actually? The window? The kitchen door?

The answer to that question was neither of these, because Ymir yanked him directly _into_ a fucking _wall_ , pulling them both into it like a hot knife through butter instead of _humans_ through _solid stone_.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he yelled, understandably confused. His voice came out slightly echoey and muffled, almost like he was somehow talking underwater. “What’s going on?! Are you the one who put everyone to sleep?”

The freckled girl clamped her free hand over his mouth, still gripping his shoulder with a nearly painful intensity. He felt her tilt his head to look at the door, before going deathly still as two people walked into the main room, both wide awake.

Somehow, the wall that he had been dragged into looked more like a watery, semi-opaque veil than the hard stone that it was supposed to be. Sound passed through it too, although it was apparently distorted. Thanks to this, he was able to rather clearly see both Reiner and Bertolt waltz their merry way inside the room, completely oblivious to their onlookers. The Suspect list was officially out the window, then, since he’d clearly found the three non-humans he’d been looking for. At least he’d been right about his guesses.

Levi watched intently as the pair glanced at Eren, then back at each other, nodding. The taller of the pair pulled what looked like a stick of chalk from a bag at his side, and promptly started drawing something on the ground. Meanwhile, the blonde boy walked over to where Eren was sleeping, waving a hand in front of his face, probably to gauge how aware he was, and, unsurprisingly, the shifter didn’t so much as flinch at the movement.

“Damn, Bert,” he muttered, looking over at his companion, who was drawing what seemed to be a big circle on the stone floor, “you knocked him out _hard_. Didn’t you say that you don’t like _Anamacha ceangailteach_ spells?” 

Beanpole finished off his circle, save for what appeared to be a little gap that was a few centimeters wide, before standing up and pocketing his stick of chalk.

“I don’t particularly enjoy messing with people’s souls, no, but we don’t really have a choice here.” 

He paused for a moment and started digging in his bag for something with his left hand. His right was hovering in midair slightly, fingers splayed oddly. They twitched slightly, as if they were attached to something, or like he was (badly) playing an invisible piano. Levi thought that it looked more than a little freaky.

“Looking for the crest?” his friend asked, before tossing him something small and shiny, which he caught with ease, before yelping and immediately dropping it on the floor, “You left it with me, remember? Kept burning you through your clothes. Should I do it instead?”

“Last time I checked, _I’m_ the one bound to our lovely Lady, so unless you found a way to circumvent my mantle, you can’t do the ritual. Not like you have the blood necessary to bond, Rei.”

“Oh. Yeah. Fair point.”

The taller of the pair sighed and shook his head, then pulled a piece of pale cloth out of his bag. He bent down and used it to pick up the metallic bauble, managing to hold onto it despite wincing at the steam curling from his fingertips. Oddly, neither the cloth nor the trinket seemed to be sustaining any damage, just the person holding it. Weird, but Levi had seen weirder, so whatever. It didn’t compare to being dragged into a fucking WALL.

“Is she even going to pick up?” Reindeer asked, sitting down next to Eren as if his unconscious ass wasn’t even there, “She seemed pretty happy to be blending in as a human. So am I. It’s fun, y’know?”

Cautiously, Sweater folded up the cloth and pocketed it, checking over his reddened fingertips before stepping out of his circle and closing the gap with his chalk.

“She’ll pick up, alright. I have her Name, remember?” he muttered, examining the newly closed circle, “The _real_ problem will be getting her to stay. She hates it, but we all know that we can only play soldier for so long. I mean, we can always come back, but we have to be there for this specific transfer, same as everyone else.” He glanced warily at Eren, sympathy filling his eyes. “Especially him. Poor thing doesn’t even remember how important he is.”

Reiner sighed and patted Eren’s back, frowning slightly. Levi bristled protectively at the touch, but Ymir kept hold on his shoulder, so he couldn’t run out and fend the brats off. “He doesn’t deserve that life, Bert. No one does. Not him, not us, not Annie, or any of the rest of them.”

“He doesn’t have a choice, _ceann is gaire_ . He’s the only one left.” 

The taller boy paused, and moved his right hand so that his fingers were pointed at Eren, palm upwards. A tiny, nearly invisible web of glowing threads appeared, wound around Beanpole’s fingers, hand, and arm, somehow hovering a centimeter or so above his clothing. Most of them led out into the hall, but the one on his pointer finger was connected to Eren’s forehead, either sinking through or just attached to the skin. Levi couldn’t tell, thanks to the hazy veil of the wall he was in. Again, he felt the urge to get himself out of the fucking death grip and defend the sleeping shapeshifter from the assholes who had (potentially) hurt him.

Reiner counted something on his fingers, before examining his friend’s hand. “Hey, isn’t there supposed to be eight strings?”

“Yeah, there should be……” Beanpole trailed off for a moment, then shook his head. “No, actually, because Ymir, remember?”

“Ohhhh yeahhhhhh. Well, I suck at math anyways, ignore me.”

If they were normal Scouts, Levi would have clubbed them on the head for forgetting something so important. But, since they weren’t, he felt only a mild disappointment when he realized that they had overlooked his presence.

Concentrating, Bertolt folded every finger except for the one attached to Eren, making the slightly slack line go taut and bright, humming with a power that Levi felt more than heard. He wrapped his left pinky around the thread, hooking and pulling it so that he was left with a long loop of the stuff, which he then twirled over itself. It created almost a braid of sorts, but as he spun it, the thread that wasn’t being twisted got thinner and thinner, until Levi was almost sure that it would snap. Unfortunately, it didn’t, and Eren stayed asleep as the person attached to him muttered something under his breath, before releasing the thread that he had been toying with.

“Sweet dreams, claochládan,” he sighed, voice oddly affectionate as he made the threads invisible once more, “You won’t remember any of this, so enjoy it while it lasts.”

Reindeer scoffed and rolled his eyes, but Levi could see the faint grin on his face. “You baby him too much, Bert. He’s not even your charge!! What happened to being like this towards Annie, huh?”

“Annie’s over a thousand years older than me, and besides, she’d be extremely ticked if I did something that patronizing. Now, speaking of her, grow me some snowdrop so we can get this ritual over with already. Sleep spells are hard to maintain.”

“With your power? I’m sure you could keep this going for a while.”

Regardless, the blonde held out his hand, which began glowing with an icy, pale green light. Levi watched, more than a little fascinated, as a plant unfurled from Reiner’s upturned palm, quickly growing and flowering into a droopy, grass-like bush, with white flowers hanging from the curled stems. He held it out to his friend, who promptly pulled four of the flowering stalks from the plant, holding them gently in his free hand.

“Anything else I can do for you, _Sir Knight_?” the shorter of the pair teased, plucking the other leaves off of his palm with a slight wince as the roots were pulled straight out of his fucking skin. “Maybe some daisies for your hair? Apples are still sort of in season, I could sacrifice part of my left arm for a day or two. Haven’t grown those in a while.”

“Oh, stop that. You know I can’t stand the honorifics.” Sweater started walking around the circle, leaving a few sprigs of the plant at what Levi assumed to be the cardinal points, based on their positioning. “And please don’t start growing anything serious, the last thing I need is to have to veil your arm because you got the munchies for the second time this week. We’re still human for another 4 or 5 months, remember?”

“How could I forget?” he sighed in response, something almost wistful in his voice as he continued, “I really don’t want to leave them, Bert. Even if we can come back, how are we going to explain our disappearance? They’ll be so concerned…”

The taller boy looked fondly at his friend. “I could always rewrite their memories. Or set up doubles in our place while we’re gone. I don’t like tampering with souls, but if it made y- _them_ happy, I’d do it.”

Both of them stared at each other for a bit, with nearly identical, idiotic grins on their faces. Levi rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to yell at them. It was literally _painful_ to watch people be so obvious about their pining. (He tried to ignore the fact that he had been in nearly the same situation a few days ago. This was a _them_ problem, not a _him_ problem, and at least _he_ had done something about it. Well, Eren had done something about it. Semantics weren’t important.)

“Anyways,” Bertolt mumbled, looking away to hide the rather obvious blush that had made itself known, “I should start trying to catch Annie’s attention. Make sure that my concentration doesn’t slip, okay? I don’t need anyone waking up and seeing this. That would be a disaster.”

“Of course, but you need to give yourself more credit. You’re the Winter fucking Knight, the least of your worries should be messing up your perfect sleep spell.”

“I literally just said no titles!! Now shush, I need to focus.”

The words made Flower Boy (new nickname achieved, great for him) shut up, watching intently as his friend walked to a spot near the doorway that led into the hall. He knelt, hands splayed in front of him, stopping a few centimeters in front of his chalk circle. A tense pressure filled the room, one that evidently could be felt even from inside of the walls, and the circle started glowing an icy blue, forming a domed barrier of swirling energy inside of it. Once that was up, Beanpole started pulling what appeared to be more glowing threads from thin air, while muttering something too quiet for Levi to hear.

It was actually sort of beautiful to watch him weave and tie the tiny strings together, in a terrifying, unearthly sort of way. At the end, he’d made some sort of looping, 3-pointed, infinite knot that seemed to connect onto itself, with no discernable tie-off. He pulled out the little trinket again, not even flinching as his fingers started to steam, and used his thumb to flick it through the center of his twisty thing. The metal piece dragged it to the edge of the circle, where it got caught on the dome, which crackled and changed its glow to a pale lavender color. Weirdly, the coin-ish item flipped into the middle of the circle, passing through the barrier like it wasn’t even there.

“Lady Annie,” he called, voice becoming even more discordant than it had been before, like there were multiple people talking at once, “Heir to the Winter Throne, the Warrior with a Lion’s Heart, I summon you with the utmost urgency. By the law of 3 Names, you must appear. As your Knight, please…uh, what was the third synonym for appear… Oh! As your Knight, I call to your _anam_ , and ask for your attention.”

“Nice going, Bert. You forgot the words again.”

“Shut up!! My intent was perfectly clear!”

Reiner opened his mouth to respond, but was promptly cut off.

“Yes, unfortunately it was,” a new voice echoed, making the purply bubble pulse frantically with every syllable, “What do you two idiots want? I mean, a _Name summoning_? For _me_? I thought we were closer than that, Bertolt.”

“We are!!” The sweater-wearing boy seemed offended at the very notion. “It’s just, this is important. I need you to open up a _Tairseach_ gate and come here, please.”

Bubble-Voice groaned unhappily, and Levi could practically hear the eye-roll. Relatable, honestly. He was going to get a cramp from being this still for so long, not to mention the fact that his shoulder was slowly going numb.

“Really?! I’m right in the middle of winning a card game! It is _so_ rude to just up and leave.”

“Say you’re going through your ‘blood week’. Always works for me in a pinch.” Flower boy piped up, only to be met with identical sighs. Levi had to suppress one too, but he was more than able to glare at the idiot who had evidently been unofficially diagnosed with chronic dumbness of ass.

“You. Don’t. Have. BLOOD!!” the other two shouted, clearly exasperated. Obviously, this was something that they had gone over many, many times.

“Whatever, just- ugh, I hate that that might actually work,” Bubble muttered, dome glowing an almost offensive shade of violet, “Fine. I’ll get these lazy assholes off my case. Be there in 10, and I swear to the goddess if this is another prank, I will specifically bind the hair on your arms together. For a month, this time.”

Neither of the boys got to respond, because the dome popped with a puff of purple steam, leaving both of them to stare dubiously at the circle before Beanpole smudged it with his toe. The remaining energy dissipated, and Ymir finally let go of Levi’s mouth. The grip on his shoulder lessened a bit, but remained. She turned and put a finger over her lips, signaling for him to be quiet as she dragged him through a wall or two. 

It was a very weird sensation, like walking through mud. Or maybe like how one would walk underwater, if they could breathe. How was he breathing, actually? He was surrounded by at least a dozen centimeters of stone on either side. Shouldn’t his lungs have filled up with dirt or rock by now? Would the rest of his body be affected by it? Ugh, he really hoped that the freaky magic shit was decent enough to keep him clean.

When they got outside and into the surrounding woods, the tall girl regarded him pensively, a stony expression on her face as she tried to gauge his reaction. Levi also distantly noticed that his arms had stopped glowing, but that was something to deal with at a later time. At least he had his priorities straight.

As one would expect, his first question was, verbatim, “What in the fresh fuck just happened in there, you fucking brat?!”

She kept staring at him for a long second, leaning against a tree that Levi _swore_ had moved to catch her. It probably had, too. Wouldn’t surprise him, not after whatever the fuck had happened inside.

“Look, I can only give ya the short version,” she said, blowing a strand of hair away from her eyes, “We gotta get back in there before the Winter Lady shows up. Goddess only knows what she’s gonna do to Rennie when she realizes he’s passed out and vulnerable.”

“Enlighten me, then, starting with whatever the fuck you did to Eren in that fight.”

Ymir huffed and picked a leaf from the branch supporting her, examining it like it was a ticket out of the conversation. “I’m gonna have to start way earlier than that, Cap’n. Y’see, you’re not the first one he’s had in that little forest of his. I was there, mmm, maybe 5 years ago? Sound like a familiar date?”

Don’t get Levi wrong, he wasn’t _stupid_. But, when he came face to face with an absolutely brain melting amount of new information in a very short time period, he did the perfectly understandable thing, which was to say that he went into a near shutdown as he tried to process everything. Honestly, who could blame him for being a little slow? He’d had knowledge of an entirely different species or three thrust onto him, and that was _before_ people had showed up with flowers growing out of their hands and the ability to move through solid fucking stone. Oh, and not to even fucking mention the fact that three of the people he had begrudgingly let into his life (somewhat, of course, it was a side effect of being forced into living with 10 roommates) could do some, and he’ll say this phrase until he dies, FREAKY FUCKING MAGIC SHIT. (Eren didn’t really count - _he’d_ had the decency to tell Levi that he was weird from day one - but the rest of them certainly did.)

“You were there at the Fall?” he asked, words tumbling out of his mouth before he could organize them into something at least somewhat respectable.

“Goddess, you look like you’re aboutta break down right now!” She laughed, unnaturally high pitched for her voice. “I mean, not really, but humans are just predictable. Throw a buncha words at them and their brains dribble out of their ears. Sorta funny. Anyways, you’re partially right, yeah. I was sent there after all the humans had evacuated, to find the first person to have not only Fae blood, but also human and titan. Fascinating stuff, no?”

Levi, who was completely lost and desperately trying to process, nodded numbly.

“Well, I found him, cooped up in that cute little nest he made, crying so much that the entire fucking forest was responding to the power he was putting out. Our little Rennie is quite possibly one of the most magically strong people alive right now, not that he’d know that though. Poor boy wanted to be normal so badly he bound his own memories t’ me. You have no idea how hard that is, just rewritin’ a piece of your soul like that.” Ymir shuddered at the thought, before continuing, “Few days later, I started teaching him how to fight. Goddess knows he needed it; punches won’t exactly defend against titans. He refused to use magic, other than his shapeshifting. It’s pretty rare for someone to learn two animal forms, let alone three and a titan, though I didn’t know ‘bout that one until his stunt at the Wall.” 

“Hold on, three forms?” Levi asked, brain screeching to a halt at the prospect of learning a previously unknown fact about Eren. “What’s the third?”

Ymir tilted her head and looked at him, eyebrows raised. “He didn’t show you? Weird. Never been one to pass up a chance to show off.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

The freckled girl laughed again, nose wrinkling. “His third form is actually the first one he wanted to learn. It’s called a seal, but hu-”

“I know what a seal is,” Levi interrupted, slightly on edge for some reason, “And a selkie. He has a book about it.”

“Lovely, one less thing to ‘splain. We have about five minutes left, so I’ll go fast as I can. You seem ready for a bit more brain meltin’.” She looked him over and shrugged, evidently deciding that it was safe to continue. Or she just didn’t care. Either way, she pressed on. “Y’see I’m what us Fair Folk call a Summer Faerie. Well, Summer Druid with a specialty in Combat Magic, technically, but whatever. Point is, I have a talent for emotional fuckery, elemental binding, wisp communication, yadda yadda yadda. Not to say that I _couldn’t_ do what those Winter boys were doing inside, but it’s a bit trickier to master. Refined shit like that isn’t my thing.”

To demonstrate this, she pulled some of the glowy threads out of the air, except these had a greenish hue to them. She wrapped them around her fingers, before twisting them like one would play with a cat’s cradle, forming what looked like a kind of spiderweb between her hands. As she passed it over her face, whatever was behind it turned invisible. Well, mostly invisible, if Levi squinted, he could see a blurry outline of her features.

“Yeah, I’m shit at veils.” She dispelled the threads with a wave, leaving only the faint scent of cut grass in its wake. “I can’t get into the full history of the Courts, but it’s always been Winter’s job to keep the titans in their own realm, which is kindaaaaa similar to what humans call Hell. Not really, but close enough. Summer watches over nature, and once humans started cropping up everywhere, them too. They help each other sometimes, but that’s how it’s always been. Every solstice, one side gets the majority of the power, so that they can do their jobs.”

Her voice dropped lower, and she glanced around nervously before continuing. “Then, ’bout a century ago, the Winter Mother and Queen were killed off at the same time. They’re the two most powerful beings on Winter’s side, and we still don’t know who did it, but most of Winter blamed Summer for it. All the in-fightin’ meant that Winter’s defenses slipped, and the titans managed to get into the human world. You know how well that went, for your kind at least. Turns out that feedin' titans the souls of the damned gave them a taste for humans in general.”

Levi had never tried to make guesses at the titan’s origins before. All he knew was that he had to kill them before they killed him. But learning that they were literally demons from kinda-Hell? That shit somehow managed to fuck with his brain, while also making perfect sense. He was going to get a headache from all the contradictions, once his brain caught up with him.

“What happened to the Mother and Queen? Can people like that even die?”

“They’re powerful, not immortal,” Ymir scoffed, before pursing her lips in thought. “Or at least the beings themselves aren’t. The magical spirit energy though? That is. We call that an ‘ _anam na banríona_ ’, or if it’s the Mother’s it’s ‘ _anam na máthar_ ’. Lady’s is an ‘ _anam na mban_ ’. It’s passed down the line whenever one of the monarchs dies, going to the next one, and their old one is given to the one below them. When the Winter rulers died, the Lady got bumped up two slots, and her Lady-in-Waiting became the Queen. They chose the new Lady to be the current one, the one that Rei and Bert were talkin’ to inside. Don’t say her name, like, ever. Very bad idea.” 

Levi normally would have asked why names were apparently such a big deal, but he had bigger concerns.

“What’s a Lady-in-Waiting?” he asked, trying to play it off as plain old curiosity.

Clearly, it didn’t work, because Ymir narrowed her eyes at him, leaning forwards slightly. “The Summer Lady talked to you, didn’t she? Tell ya all about her plans for Rennie in a dream? She loves those, I swear she gets off on messin’ with humans’ heads.”

“It’s happened a few times now, yeah, but she never really said that much about why she wants Eren.”

“Oooooooh boy,” the freckled girl sighed, shaking her head, “One minute left, I’ll make this fast. So, I said Rennie’s powerful, right? Well, both Winter and Summer want that power for themselves, and since he hasn’t shown any real magical lean towards one side or the other, they could both make him their Lady-in-Waiting. Think of ‘im as, like, a neutral party. As for why they want him so bad, I think it’s got somethin’ to do with the in-fighting. Winter wants justice, Summer wants Winter to stop attackin’ them, so they both decided it would be fun to destroy each other ‘stead of the titans, which is probably the much bigger problem here. Get him on one side, they brainwash him, make him fight, and lookie that the entire cycle is fucked and the world will end. But at least they really _proved_ their _superiority_ , huh?!?”

“Well, which one do you want to win?”

Ymir grinned, already walking back towards the building. “That’s for me to know, and you to…… not… know. Whatever.”

Levi rolled his eyes but didn’t reply, out of fear of being assaulted with new information. He accepted the hand being held out to him, which immediately yanked him into the wall. It was arguably less surprising the second time, but it still felt more than a little unnerving to be passing through stone so easily. At least he knew it wasn’t getting him dirty.

“Be quiet on your own this time, will you?” Wall Girl (two new nicknames in one day, what an achievement) asked, voice barely above a whisper as she led him back to their eavesdropping spot, “I need a hand free in case things go to shit.”

The captain hummed in agreement, before standing in the same general area he’d been at a few minutes before. He looked over at the two non-humans in the actual room, who were sitting on _top_ of a table like the cretins they were, (Levi had fucking _told_ them not to do that) tossing back and forth some sort of ball. Flower Boy had terrible aim, but every time it ended up on the ground, Beanpole spawned a thread between it and his hand, before pulling it back like a yo-yo. Levi was a bit confused at how he had never seen them do shit like this before. They seemed to fling around magic like it was nothing, and yet he had never once noticed anything exceedingly weird happen between them.

After a mind numbing few seconds of tossing and catching, there was a discordant chime, and both of them snapped to attention, looking at the doorway expectantly. Unfortunately for them, the bluish, spiral-like sigil appeared behind them, so they were caught completely by surprise when a blonde girl tapped their shoulders, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

To be honest, “blonde girl” didn’t do her justice. Her hair was short and pale, looking more like sun-backed ice instead of something that would naturally sprout out of a human’s head, and her skin was just as pallid. It would have given her a porcelain-doll like look, if not for the fact that her bone structure looked more gaunt and sharp than anything else. Well, that and her unnervingly blue eyes, somehow both piercing and subdued at the same time, which gave her more of an unapproachable, alien sort of look, like an ancient statue that might crumble if you get too close. (Given what Bertolt had said about her being a thousand years older than him, she probably _was_ an ancient statue.)

The other things that Levi noticed right away were the actual fucking storm clouds floating around her head and shoulders, occasionally sparking with lightning or giving off random puffs of snow. They made the air a few degrees colder every time they turned to a darker grey, and it could be felt even from inside of the wall. He vaguely wondered if she had those up all the time, or if they operated like Clara, giving her the option to dismiss them.

“Good morning, dearest idiots,” she sighed, weight shifting when the two boys in front of her jumped in surprise, allowing Levi to see that the back of her fur-trimmed leather jacket was emblazoned with the unicorn insignia of the Military Police. Great, he liked her even less now. “It’s been a while. Nice place they put you in here. Very……stony.”

Flower boy rolled his eyes and pocketed the ball he’d been tossing. “Not all of us wanted to spend our time playing _cards_ with boring Interior folk.”

“And not all of us wanted to be _suicidal maniacs_ cooped up with _other_ suicidal maniacs, trying to fight the _same_ battles we spent nearly a _century_ trying to escape,” the blonde girl countered, clouds crackling unhappily, “Now, what ‘important thing’ did you two call me here for?”

Beanpole moved aside and gestured to Eren, who was still passed out on the table, though the boys had moved the cat elsewhere. “Him.”

There was a long pause as the new girl tilted her head, looking at the shapeshifter with an intense curiosity. A slight halo of silvery light surrounded her eyes, and she physically flinched back in shock.

“Sweet mother of fucking Maria! He’s a fucking _draíocht_ bonfire! And…” she trailed off, looking closer at Eren before tracing something invisible with her finger. It led away from his chest and, as Levi realized a bit too late, connected di-fucking-rectly to his hiding spot.

Well, shit.

“You _fucking_ IDIOTS!” Annie spun around to her friends, who looked very confused as she yelled at them, stormclouds rolling with thunder while her arms flailed around in a mixture of disbelief and anger. “What have I said about being thorough when checking for veils?!?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that! Bert put everyone in the building to sleep.” Reiner gave the irritated Lady a double thumbs up, expression entirely confident. 

The look was an odd contrast to his friend’s face, which was shamefully buried in his hands. “I put the _humans_ to sleep, Rei… and we weren’t sure about the number, remember?”

Without warning, Levi felt something thin and very cold wrap around his waist, right before yanking him forwards. It was too fast for either him or Ymir to react, and since she was still holding onto his wrist, she was pulled right out of the wall with him. Her fingers were halfway through weaving some sort of magic thing, but it was a bit late for any sort of extra concealment.

“You missed two whole ass people!” Ice Queen (three nicknames, Levi was on a fucking roll today) facepalmed with her free hand. The other was holding one of the glowy thread, which was unwinding itself from the captain’s waist. “How do you- did you even check for veils in the first place?! That is literally the simplest step in this whole process!”

Neither of the Winter boys responded, they were too busy gaping at Ymir and Levi, both of which were glaring right back at them.

“And one’s a fucking Summer Druid! The other is a human! I thought you put them all to sleep at least! How did you _both_ miss them _oh my fucking Walls please help these two idiots or I swear to the Goddess_ -”

“Right. Yeah,” Levi said, walking over to Eren while the others were distracted, “I have no fucking clue what’s going on here, so if I could just take my idiot and leave, that’d be great. You lot can fight it out with your freaky magic, as long as you clean up after yourselves. I’ll be off then, this was a lovely chat, bye!”

A mental itch went off at him accidentally letting the “my idiot” through, but he had too big of a headache to care. Carefully, he picked up Eren and slung him over his shoulder, already making his way towards the door.

“Capt- uh, Levi, please don’t leave yet!!” someone called from behind him, probably Bertolt, and he paused, at least willing to listen to whatever they wanted, probably right before giving them a big fat ‘no’ and walking away.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t, brat.”

A different person scoffed and started to say something, but was muffled and told to shut the fuck up.

“Just…hear us out, okay? I promise we don’t want to do anything that might hurt Eren.”

Oh, good, another internal debate. As if Levi hadn’t had enough of those in the past 24 hours alone. If he stayed, he might get attacked with magic or something, and he didn’t really want to see what the Winter Lady could do up-close. She already seemed powerful and threatening when she was calm, which meant that it probably increased tenfold when she was pissed off. Going off of her apparent tendency to snap at people for being dumb, that was probably quite often.

“Fine,” he sighed, not wanting to be the cause of such a snap, “but if I don’t like it, I’m out of here and going straight to Hange to get my head checked.”

Ymir snickered at that, but quickly shut up when Ice Queen gave her a glare cold enough to rival Levi’s. He ignored them both and cautiously walked back over, before sitting at one of the tables. He was still carrying Eren over his shoulder, though that was quickly remedied when he moved the shifter to his lap, arms curled protectively around his chest as the younger boy continued being a boneless pile of unconscious jelly against his chest. Annie cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head curiously at the sight, but didn’t say anything.

“How much do you know about the Faeborn?” Sweater asked, voice becoming agonizingly slow, like he was explaining something to a small child. It pissed Levi off a bit more than it should have, but he really didn’t have the energy to put a cap on his emotions.

Before he could reply with something horribly unfiltered, Ymir cut in. “I told ‘im the basics: the Courts, the monarchs, the kinda civil war we got goin’ on, all that jazz. He knew some of it from contact with the Summer Lady though.”

“The Droman with a dream obsession?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Well, that makes things a little easier.” The tall boy sighed, rolling his shoulders, “I am curious as to why you’re in the Walls, though, I thought we were the only ones.”

“I could ask you the same thing, _Sir Knight_.” Ymir said the title like an insult, but the snarl in her voice was half-hearted. “Aren’t you lot supposed to be servin’ your people or whatever? Goin’ around kissing babies or something? Killin’ Summer’s citizens to get your stupid revenge?”

This time, it was Annie who cut in, voice unnervingly calm and diplomatic, which was a complete 180 from how she’d been acting previously. “We came here to get away from that, actually. I expected them to replace me once I ran off, but here we are. I still have the _Anam na mban_ , and Bertolt still has his Mantle. Let’s just say we don’t…agree… with the circumstances back home, so we’re trying to distance ourselves from all that pointless nonsense. Are your intentions anywhere near as peaceful, Druid?”

“Don’t use your compulsion magic on _me_ , Queenie,” the brunette snapped, glaring at Annie with some sort of literal fire dancing over her eyelashes, “I don’t like mind games, so I’ll tell ya, straight up. I came here to learn ‘bout and from humans, plain ‘n simple, and I did it for the boy you lot wanna brainwash into a perfect soldier. Then, I stayed for a very nice girl I met, who is currently under the influence of a fucking sleep bind. Let her go, and I might play a little nicer.”

Flower boy gave her a look of sympathy, which was uncharacteristically soft of him. “You know we can’t do that, ‘Mir, Chri-”

“Don’t you _‘Mir_ me, you Winter asshole. You don’t get to call me that anymore.” Her voice cracked slightly, the only indication of whatever emotional torment she was going through. “We trained together, for three fuckin’ years! We’ve been Scouts for four months now, and _today_ I find out that it was all a fucking _lie_? Goddess, you’re all the same.”

Levi considered taking off with Eren and getting the hell out of that place. Clearly, this conversation was only going to devolve. One of them would end up crying, probably, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be around for that. At the same time, though, he kind of wanted to see how this played out, even if it was just to watch the drama unfold. Well, that and he was sort of interested in seeing more magic, especially in fighting scenarios. Maybe he could do something like that with Clara? That spawned the beautiful image of the wisp attacking and burning people like a swarm of angry fireflies. Walls, that would be great to torment Hange with.

“Ymir, you know that none of us can lie,” Bertolt said softly, pulling Levi out of his thoughts, “We all acted a bit to blend in as human, yes, but we’re still your friends. Just, now we know that you’re a fellow Faeborn. And I promise, Christa is safe and having nothing but good dreams right now, same as the rest of them. They’re our friends too, I wouldn’t ever intentionally hurt any of them, but humans don’t react well to seeing stuff that they don’t understand, so I found a non-violent way to keep them away.” 

The freckled girl seemed to deflate a little at the words, face softening into something almost melancholy. “We’re comin’ back to this later, but for now, just… don’t hurt her. Or Rennie. They don’t deserve it.”

Levi was a bit offended by the fact that he’d been left out, but he pressed it down in favor of trying to get the conversation back on track.

“Speaking of Eren,” he said, pointedly trying to change the subject, “You still haven’t said anything about why everyone wants him so much, other than the soldier and brainwashing bit.”

Annie sighed and jumped into the new conversation with him. Clearly, she felt just as excluded from the brats’ collective breakdown. “Well, that is the main reason, yes, but Summer especially wants him, because they’re going to have an opening in their line of progression when the Solstice rolls around. Long story short on that, every millennia or so, the older Mother from either Summer or Winter gives up her Crown, and she fades back into the Earth. There’s more to it, obviously, but that’s essentially what’s going to happen. Eren will give them a shit ton of power, so they clearly want that to be amplified if or when he becomes the next Lady. Or Lord, not sure how that works. It’s never happened before.”

“Got it, yeah. And I’m presuming you want to give him to Winter, instead?”

“What? Hell no.” The blonde girl scoffed, but her clouds showed no indication of real annoyance. “I want him to stay as a third party, to convince all of those civil war idiots to stop fighting each other. We really need to be focusing on the titans, those are a _much_ bigger issue. Literally, they’re rather tall.”

Y’know what? Levi realized that he actually kinda warming up this MP, Ice Queen weirdo. She wasn’t half as stuck up as most of the Interior pigs, had a decent sense of humor, and she seemed a rather okay person all around. He’d be willing to tolerate her, at least. Good to know that not all of the Faeborn were cryptic bundles of branches. Or easily confused brats. (It didn’t matter how terrifyingly old any of them were, if they looked and acted like shitty teenagers, Levi was going to think of them as such.)

“Have any of you stopped to consider asking _him_ what _he_ wants?” He raised an eyebrow, already knowing the answer. “I mean, just controlling someone like a fuckin’ pawn isn’t a very good way to make them cooperate, especially if they’re unconscious the whole time.”

Annie’s eyes widened and she clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth, brows scrunched in thought. “I mean… no? Haven’t met him before today, but that’s probably a good idea.”

“Uh, Cap’?” Wall Girl asked, still eyeing the blonde Lady warily, “Just a thought here, but since Rennie intentionally bound his memories to me to get rid of ‘em, he’ll have no idea what we’re talkin’ ‘bout when he wakes up. ‘N honestly? I don’t think he even wants to remember. Not that I blame him, the shit you two got going on seems a lot better than trying to negotiate with rabid Faeries-”

“Don’t call us that, _Druid_.”

“Whatever, Queenie, it gets the point ‘cross. Anyways, I’m almost entirely sure he won’t want to put himself in the middle of a magical civil war. I mean, he might if _Levi_ asked him to, but that’d still take a shit tonna convincin’.”

Betolt raised his hand tentatively, like he was scared to interrupt. Levi thought that was rather stupid, seeing as everyone else had been jumping in whenever the fuck they pleased.

“If I may, uh, I’d like to mention have a plan? Well part of one, but…” He trailed off, but 3 out of 5 of the others present glared at him, so he quickly continued. “Ok, so, we could go outside, hide in the forest, and I’ll wake everyone up. We explain to Eren what’s going on, and let him decide what he wants to do. If he wants to properly learn magic and be a negotiator, we’re going to have at least three months to train him. It’ll be the middle of expedition season by then, and we can… I don’t really know what we’d do at that point, but we get there when we get there.”

All of the others considered his words, but Levi especially decided to think over the ‘sort of’ plan. He may not have been an Erwin-level of strategist, but he did have a (mostly) operational brain in his skull. Besides, it was something that had Eren involved, which meant that his attention span was at least perfectly willing to cooperate.

To be fair, it wasn’t a bad plan per se, just not the most fleshed-out. Beanpole hadn’t thought of an excuse for having them randomly disappear once they came back and everyone was awake, nor had he thought up a cover story for why someone who was supposed to be in the Interior had popped by out of the blue. Plus, what were they even going to tell Eren when he woke up? Did he have enough of his memories back to remember what magic he could do? Did he even know it existed at all? Well, he obviously knew it existed, since there wasn’t really a scientific explanation for why he could change into various animals at will, or at least any that wouldn’t require extensive testing and bloodwork.

Ugh, thinking himself in circles wasn’t going to help anyone. Levi knew that there was only one way to test this, and that was going outside to get it over with.

Looks like he was going on a hike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEAH BAYBEEEEE LETS GET THE PLOT GOINNNNN!!
> 
> Yall know how I said that this was going to get more and more AU-ish? Well, here ya go! To be fair, I still haven't gotten off my ass and watched season four, mostly because I'm too scared of seeing my favorite characters turn into war criminals or something, idk. So, uh, Paradis Island who?? We don't know herrrr. Gonna just shove that aside and substitute in my own little fairy world!! :D
> 
> Ok, here's the pronunciation guide:
> 
> _Anamacha ceangailteach_ (ah-num-ock-a kahn-giltah) means “Binding souls”, or roughly translates to that at least. I sounded it out the best I can, but I’m no Merriam-Webster dictionary, so if you want that Gucci sounding shit, you’re gonna have to look up an English-Irish voice translator. I use the Irish Pronunciation Database (https://www.teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/).
> 
> _ceann is gaire_ (chawn iss guy-reh, and smush it together so it sounds like one word) means “Dearest one” because I’m HERE for dorks being sweet in other languages.
> 
> _Tairseach_ (tor-sha, so kind of like saying Tasha with a really thick Irish accent) means threshold or boundary, and there’s a reason for that! Also, the word for “portal” didn’t vibe with me, so…yeah. Oh, and the dialectical variations on this word are wack as fuck, apparently nobody wanted to decide where to put the emphasis.
> 
> _anam na banríona, anam na máthar, anam na mban_ (Ah-num nah bahn-rey-o-nah for Queen, ah-num nah maw-herr for Mother, ah-num nah bahn for Lady, and they’re in order) Means “Soul of the Queen/Mother/Lady”. And, because I’m stupid and wrote them out of order, I’d like to say that the 1st or lowest “level” is Lady, the 2nd is Queen, and the 3rd is Mother, who is super fuckign powerful. I may also refer to them as Crowns or other things in the future, since it’s a lot to write out lol.
> 
> _draíocht_ (dree/dray-it but make it smushed together and aesthetic) means magic, and this one had a little certified checkmark on Google Translate, so I know for sure it’s accurate. Also, this one was tricky in the sense that I really can’t easily describe the vowel sound that the “aío” makes, so the best I can tell you is just pretend to be herding sheep or sumn around the hills of Ireland, and just. Idk. Somehow verbalize that specific aesthetic. Best advice I’ve got for the fellow ‘Must say fun words out loud’ people out there.
> 
> Alright, think that’s it, and I apologize if I fucked up any of it. I’m struggling enough with French as it is, and I’m terrified of the Duolingo murder owl, so I’m probablyyyy not learning Gaelic any time soon. Tbh though, I would do that for this fic, if I ever get bored enough. And!! If you want, go look up some Celtic mythology and folklore! It’s really fucking cool!! I got most of the stuff mentioned so far from either Wikipedia or Dresden Files lore, except for the magic system. That, I made somewhat based on the Iron Druid Chronicles, plus a little dash of my own imagination and fuckery. I hope it makes at least some sort of sense, although I’ll go into it more as the plot progresses!


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 9k of magic, hijinks, and fluff. That's...about it. the more serious stuff can start up again next chapter, I just think they deserve a bit of a break.
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> \- sooooo many frivolous uses of magic lmao
> 
> \- Pining tm, but this time between a tol plant boi and an even taller Winter Knight
> 
> \- shitty attempts at foreshadowing
> 
> \- amoral characters who literally can't lie make for one hell of a fun concoction, I love writing Faeries
> 
> \- I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO PUT IN EM DASHES ON MS WORD, BAYBEEEE!! my comma key is grateful.
> 
> \- Is the majority of my lore and magic system lifted from other books? Yes, I am shameless and wanted something other than "say specific word, make thing go boom boom"
> 
> \- French, specifically used to say the absolute **sappiest** and sweetest shit ever. Levi's doing his best, okay?
> 
> -Last but certainly not least, cussing!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, uh, been over a week and a half. New month, welcome to March!! I'm sorry, it's honestly the usual excuses. Got distracted, had stressful school stuff, (Math is kicking my ass, ugh) bit of family/social problems, and then had a sinus infection on top of it all. Not the best week.
> 
> Anyways, in more interesting news! 2 cool things, to be exact.
> 
> 1- I started a character study on Mikasa yesterday, specifically her relationships with her Squad in this story. (And, even more specifically, Annie) Thinking of making a one-shot related work out of it, just to keep around and use whenever I need to. I really like her character in AoT, and I don't want to ignore how awesome she is in this story, too. No supporting character left behind!!!
> 
> 2- Part of the reason this is late because I've been on and off binge writing an Eren/Levi Modern ice skating AU, based on a maladaptive daydream I had a while back. I wanted to take a shot at writing from Eren's POV, and holy shit it's fun. (Remember kids, therapy is good! Don't be like me and just project everything onto poor fictional characters.) But yeah, let me know if that's something that would be fun to read!! It's not been proofread bc I feel Weird when writing more personal stuff, especially of the rainbow variety, and then having it be read by my (adamantly straight) best friend who still doesn't understand the concept of fanfiction as a whole.
> 
> Ok, yeah, I think that just about covers it!!! Short pronunciation guide at the end note, just for a word or two.

Out of all the very odd and magic-fuck-inizing people Levi had found himself on a weird little field trip with, he hadn’t expected Reiner—being the more-often-than-not clueless brat that he was—to be a wonderful navigator. Then again, Levi had decided that his life was officially going to be unexpected twist after unexpected twist, so it really wasn’t as much of a shock as it probably should have been. After all, finding out that you’ve been living with a girl who can _walk through fucking walls_ took a lot of the “holy shit” factor out of everything.

The surprisingly (or perhaps not so surprisingly, since he could grow flowers out of his skin) nature-attuned boy led them through a path of saplings and bushes, occasionally throwing out a “This way, better trees here,” or “Watch for the poison oak, it’ll give you a rash that burns like hell.” It probably had something to do with his plant abilities, but Levi liked to think that the tall blonde had spent hours just wandering around in a forest, probably lost or something. Bit funny, honestly, and after the day he’d had, he needed a somewhat-humorous-and-mildly-vindictive mental picture or two. Ok, more like a few dozen, but his brain could only conjure so many things at a time.

After a rather lengthy and twisting miniature hike through the small forest, they arrived at a somewhat circular clearing, with surprisingly no plants in the middle of it. Maybe the magical not-boyfriends had used it before, to do…well, magic stuff, probably. It was very well hidden from other people, tucked into a little corner of pines that evidently gave the area cover, regardless of the season.

“This it?” Annie asked, receiving a nod in reply, “Cool, I’ll set up a veil, Bert can start working on unweaving the sleep bind. It’ll take them a few minutes to wake up, so everyone be ready for that.”

Normally, Levi would have asked who died and put her in charge, but the whole Winter Lady thing made it kinda obvious. Not like he was really complaining though, it meant someone else could take responsibility for once. It was so nice to be able to let her do all the bossing around, while he just stood there, holding Eren, since there was no reason to put him down yet. Even better, he could see more of the freaky magic veil shit, as well as how one went about undoing a spell.

It didn’t look too complicated, once he got used to the glowing, floaty strings, but it was probably harder than they made it look. Levi had only ever tried making some sort of weaving thing once in his life, when Petra got bored and decided she should teach him how to make bracelets out of embroidery thread. It…didn’t end well. So far, un-sleep-ifying people looked kind of like bracelet making, but in reverse. Sweater was untangling threads and untying knots with the kind of deft movements that only years of practice would produce. Hell, maybe he _had_ spent years doing just that. Levi still had no fucking clue how old the brats actually were.

On the other hand, this whole “veil-weaving” thing seemed a lot easier. It looked like what Wall Girl had been doing, with the vaguely cat’s cradle-like motions, but on a much bigger scale. There also appeared to be a semi-knotted, looping twist that Annie had wound around the clearing, following a chalk circle that Beanpole had somehow managed to make in the dirt. The Ice Queen had summoned some sort of wisp that floated over her head, presumably to help her with such a big project, and she was pulling threads from it far faster than she’d pulled them from thin air. It looked vaguely like a periwinkle-flamed torch, minus the stick that should have gone with it, though it did have a silver band around it. Levi wasn’t quite sure what it did, but it looked cool.

When Bertolt uncrossed his last twist, he signaled something to the blonde girl, who nodded as he released his threads into the air with a flick of his fingers. Immediately, Levi felt Eren stir, breathing changing to something a bit quicker than it had been before. He mumbled something about waves and the sun, before his eyes finally blinked open to stare vaguely at his surroundings.

“Morning, Birdbrain,” Levi sighed, lips twitching up at how spacey Eren looked as he squinted up at him, “Second time I’ve said that today. Don’t make this a habit.”

There was a long pause as the shifter tried to make sense of where he was. 

“Leviiiii, why’re we innna foresttttt?” Fucking Walls, his voice was warbling all over the place. Did the sleep spell fuck with his brain? “Where’d the sunflowers goooo? They were prettyyyyy…”

Levi looked over and raised an eyebrow at the person who was the cause of this mess, who was desperately trying (and failing) to conceal his snickering by hiding behind his blonde friends.

“It’s, uh, just give him a few minutes.” He laughed at Eren’s very confused and owlish gaze, which was suddenly fixed on him. “Perfectly normal, just a side effect of the bind. Dreams kinda…bleed into reality. He’ll come to pretty soon, just don’t put him down before then.”

“Leviiiiiiii don’t listen to himmmm! Let me down so I can go see the stormcloud lady!”

The ‘Stormcloud Lady’ glared at Bertolt, evidently blaming him for this situation. “ _This_ is the one that everyone’s been fussing about? The ‘ _chosen one_ ’ or whatever? We’re fucking doomed.” 

Regardless, she idly flicked her fingers, sending a portion of her dark clouds funneling towards Eren. The shifter grinned appreciatively, before reaching out towards his newfound plaything. This, however, was a terrible mistake. A small arch of lightning connected with his fingertips, making him yelp in shock. Levi didn’t feel anything, which was a bit odd, considering that the current should have passed to him through Eren.

For a moment, the brunette went terrifyingly still, before turning bright red, burying his face in his hands.

“Oh fuck,” he groaned, voice a lot steadier than it had been previously, “I’m so sorry! I don’t know what… erm, I actually just don’t know anything. Please ignore me.”

Levi suppressed a chuckle. “I’m guessing that zap knocked some sense into you?”

Eren’s face kept flaming as he tried to shrink himself away from the others. “Maybe……………… but, uh, am I supposed to know where we are? Or why?”

“It’s…complicated.” The captain shook his head, temporarily dismissing the topic. “Are you ready to get down? You’re going to want to be standing for this.”

At Eren’s nod, he helped him stand up properly, which was a bit easier said than done because of how they were positioned. He ended up having to practically drop him, much to the others’ chagrin. At least Eren had good reflexes and managed not to fall on his ass.

When the shifter could properly stand without stumbling, he turned to face the people in the clearing who weren’t Levi. It took a bit longer than he probably would have liked to admit to fully process who else was there with him. Even once he had, he spent at least a whole fucking minute gaping at Ymir, who was smirking and sitting on a boulder that Levi knew had not been there beforehand.

Eventually, he managed to take his attention off of the freckled girl, before turning to face Annie with a somewhat less shocked expression. “So, uh, who are you?”

“Call me Annie.” She looked him over dubiously, precise and piercing eyes raking over his body. “Nice to meet you, Eren.”

Levi noted that she didn’t say “my name is…” or “I’m Annie”. It rather intensely reminded him of the time he was nearly drowned for introducing himself. He made a note not to go tossing his name around carelessly, at least not where the freaky magic fuckers were concerned.

“Hi Annie! Uh, would you mind telling me why you have…” Eren gestured to her vaguely. “That?”

The Lady raised her eyebrows, a small grin tugging at the corners of her lips. “It’s magic, can’t you tell?”

Eren flinched back at the words, head swiveling between Annie and Levi in confusion, desperately wanting one of them to explain. The captain sighed and shook his head, glaring slightly at Ice Queen. She didn’t need to be so blunt or callous about it. Let the poor boy adjust, fucking Walls.

“Listen, Birdbrain,” he sighed, cautiously putting a hand on the shifter’s shoulder, “We… need to talk.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Let me see if I got all this,” Eren groaned for the umpteenth time. Honestly, no matter how much they summarized it, his thick skull was preventing any information from getting through. “You guys can do magic stuff, and I can too, apparently? And I’m supposed to learn it and save the world? Is that it?”

Bertolt nodded encouragingly. He had been the most understanding and helpful thus far. “Major oversimplification of events, but yes.”

“Oh. Ok then. How do I do it?”

Ymir groaned, flopping back onto her boulder like it was a chaise instead of a slab of actual stone. “Rennie, y’already know the basics! Just take back your memories already, 's not that hard. Seriously, get ‘em off of me, they’re depressin’.”

“Uhhhhhhhhh….” Eren muttered, face dusting with pink, “I don’t know… how to do that?”

“Oh Goddess. I’m stuck with these forever, aren’t I?!”

Eren sighed and hung his head, evidently feeling quite horrible and guilty for not being able to help. Levi’s protective instinct flared up immediately, and he unconsciously scooted the tiniest bit closer to the shapeshifter.

“Don’t worry about the memories that you don’t have for now,” he said, glaring pointedly at Wall Girl and her rock, “Just focus on what you do remember. Is there anything important?”

“No, sorry. It’s just the two I told you about, nothing—”

Annie reached over and clamped her hand over Eren’s mouth, rolling her eyes. It wasn’t the first time she had done so, and, judging from how things were going, it probably wouldn’t be the last. After all, apparently the only way to really get through to Eren was a terrifyingly hyped motivational speech, (normally courtesy of Erwin of Armin) or to physically remind him, usually with gentle harassment.

“Stop. Saying. Sorry,” she sighed, pressing Eren’s head back with every word, “ _Sorry_ implies that you did something wrong, and that you’re in _debt_ to whoever you said sorry to. You do NOT want to end up in that situation, got that?”

Eren gave her the best nod he could, and she removed her hand. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly clamped it shut. Well, he was learning, at least.

“Anyways,” Reiner cut in, messing with a crop of touch-sensitive ferns that had sprouted up by his feet, “What’s your decision? Are you going to fight in a war that you should have never been involved in in the first place? Will you sacrifice happiness for a cause that might be lost? Learning magic isn’t for the weak of mind or heart, you know.”

The other five gave the blonde boy an odd look. It was… _weird_ … to hear him, of all people, saying something so deep and thoughtful, especially while practically baby-talking it to a bunch of leaves. 

He paused to look at their confused expressions and shrugged. “I guess the Commander rubbed off on me a little.”

“My deepest condolences,” Levi muttered, words automatically coming out of his mouth before he could stop them, “Please seek mental help.”

Eren and Ymir doubled over laughing at that, and Levi noticed Bertolt was snickering too, though he tried to disguise it as a sudden coughing fit. Annie just looked confused, which, y’know. Made sense. Not a Scout. Yeah, Levi had no idea where he was going with that.

Anyways, once Eren finished wheezing his damn lungs out, he stood up straight, eyes gleaming with determination. “You said that helping the Courts is going to end up killing titans?”

“Sorta? I mean—” Bertolt was cut off by a harsh glare from Annie and Levi, both of them non-verbally telling him not to complicate things any more than necessary, where Eren was concerned. “Yeah, in the long run. Help Tí- the Courts, they go back to fighting the titans, then—” 

“Boom all of the titans are dead, and humanity is safe once again?”

“Something like that, yes.”

Eren hummed, an uncharacteristically pensive look passing over his face for a few seconds.

“Alright, I’ll do it.” he grinned, hitting his palm with his fist in excitement, “Let’s learn this magic thing right now!! How do I start?”

Levi put his head in his hands, lamenting the fact that the idiotic and apparently suicidal shapeshifter hadn’t given it more than 5 seconds of thought before deciding. Once Eren had his mind set on something, there was no getting him to drop it, or at least as far as Levi knew. Ymir, from what Levi could see of her through his fingers, looked similarly appalled. He was half convinced she was going to smack Eren again, or maybe tell a tree to hang him upside down until he got the point. Wow, now the captain wanted some magic of his own, specifically to do shit like that. It would be fucking hilarious to make Four-Eyes pass out whenever they got too nosy. Was there a “shut up” spell? If not, he decided that there definitely should be.

Beanpole opened and closed his mouth a few times, evidently just as shocked, before managing to cough out a suitable reply. “It’s not really a ‘just do it’ kind of thing. It takes years of discipline, meditation, practice, breathing techniques, druid tattoos if that’s your style, reading ancient texts, learning how to tie knots-”

Annie leveled him with another glare. “Bert, we literally do not have the time. Crash course him already, I don’t care.”

“Yeah, all of that extra stuff seems...boring. Just tell me how to get these thread things to move!! Unless those aren’t the same ones, and it’s just the bird senses messing with me…”

Once again, everyone (except for Levi, he was honestly still confused as shit) gaped at the somehow-oblivious-without-being-actually-clueless brunette. Ymir started cackling again for some reason, letting out loud snorts that she didn’t even bother trying to cover up.

This time, the Ice Queen herself was the first to recover, mostly because Bertolt was staring at his hands and looking like he was about to cry. “So you’re telling me you can just…see the _teaghráin draíochta_? Without any sort of True Sight veil? It’s just…there?”

“The what-what without a what-now?”

The blonde girl pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. “The _teaghráin draíochta_. Threads of… what do you lot call it? Magic? Science? Spirit? I don’t know anymore. They’re little threads, sometimes bigger or glowing, that literally weave the entire fucking… _everything_ … together!! If you could see them all, all the time, it would be a fucking visual nightmare! Like walking inside a tapestry! What- How-”

“Oh!! There’s not that many…” Eren tilted his head to the side, scrunching his eyebrows together. “I can only see… five? Six, if you count the little purple one around this spot. But I can see more if I really focus! I’ve done it before, but I just thought it was part of my extra senses from the bird stuff.”

Annie sighed. “Out of curiosity that I will probably regret…where are they?”

Eren looked around, counting something on his fingers. 

“One around the perimeter of this area, but it’s pretty thin. A bigger one between you and Bertolt, and from him to,” Eren gestured between the suddenly blushing Knight he was pointing at and the blonde playing with his plants, “him. And then Ymir has one that goes off that way,” He pointed towards the general direction of the barracks. “And one from me to Levi! I think there might be more, but those are the easiest to see.”

“Oh, one between Bert and Rei?” Annie grinned mischievously. It looked eerily like a cat about to pounce on an unsuspecting mouse. “What color is it?”

Eren opened his mouth to reply, but something shimmered momentarily between his lips, right before slamming them shut. The shapeshifter’s cheeks puffed out as he tried to talk around his odd restraint, though it was (sadly) muffled beyond recognition.

“Nope, there will be none of _that_ ,” Bertolt yelped, hand hastily flung out to connect his string-things to Eren’s shut mouth. Oh good, shut-up spells were a thing!! “Annie, that’s mean and highly invasive!! If you want to know so bad, just pull up your own True Sight veil. Not that you should, but you can. I know you have a really good one- But no saying anything about it!! Actually, I take it back; don’t even look! Bad Annie!”

“Psh, whatever. Not like I have morals in the first place!! Besides, my True Sight isn’t thread based, it’s all raw draíocht. You’re the druid here, not me. Now drop his bind, I need to keep talking to him about other stuff.”

Oh, if Levi thought dealing with brats was bad before, brats with magic were somehow way worse. One would think that with all the apparent “rules” they had going on, they’d at least be well behaved, but _noooooo_! Even the authority figure was acting like a gossiping child!!

Reluctantly, Sweater complied, fingers twisting and pulling, which effectively dispelled the threads between Eren’s lips. The shapeshifter glared at him and rubbed at his mouth, evidently not pleased with whatever had just been done to him. Still, he didn’t shout out a color, which Bertolt seemed incredibly relieved about.

“Anyways,” Annie sighed, waving Eren over with a halfhearted flick of her fingers, “come here you anomaly, I wanna take a look at your eyes.”

Eren looked very confused, but complied, standing in front of the blonde girl like she was going to bite him. Honestly, Levi wouldn’t even be surprised anymore, though he did keep a careful watch on the two of them, just in case. Couldn’t have Birdbrain getting hurt on his first day of fucked up magic school, right?

Ice Queen held up her hands between their faces, palms facing each other with the index fingers on each one extended upwards. “K, try and see this.” 

It took a few moments, but Eren apparently managed to get it right, because he turned away and started laughing. Annie grabbed his hair and made him look back at her, grinning with an undecipherable expression as she looked just to the right of his face. 

“Well, was it?”

“Yeah!”

The blonde smiled wider, eyes sparkling. “Fascinating, thank you. Also, your eyes are normally green, no?”

Eren shrugged and looked over his shoulder. “Hey Levi, what color would you say my eyes are?”

“Like a forest green with some bits of blue,” the captain automatically responded, before flushing when he realized what he’d just said. And, for anyone with half a brain, what he’d just _admitted to_. Damn it, maybe wanting the brats to be smart was a bad idea after all.

“Hmm. Well, they turn gold when you use True Sight. No idea what that means. Anyways, never try to see too many threads at once, I think your head would explode, metaphorically speaking. Ramp yourself up to that level slowly.”

Levi considered mentioning that Eren’s eyes had also been partially gold while he was stuck as a half-bird, but decided that he was going to be petty to get back at the brunette for exposing him like that, so he just stood there silently.

“Alright, next question,” Annie said. Apparently, she was the new magic teacher, instead of Beanpole. Maybe they’d switch off? Whatever. “Can you _touch_ the threads?”

Eren shook his head. “I’ve tried before, and my hand goes right through them.”

“Damn, so no easy way then. Bert, that’s your area of expertise, have at him.”

“What? No! You’re the one who wanted to speed through this process!! I don’t even know how to teach someone without at least a year or two! He literally knows nothing about…anything!! No offense, Eren.”

Said shapeshifter looked up from…something, and shrugged, right before going back to examining the ground very closely. Levi swore he could see a vague haze of gold around Eren’s eyes as he watched a presumably invisible thing moving somewhere on the floor. The other two kept on arguing over his head, occasionally slipping into that weird foreign language they shared, probably to cuss at each other. At least, that was what Levi would do in their position.

Eventually, Ymir took notice of the general idiocy taking place, and whisper yelled something that Levi couldn’t quite make out to Eren. (To be fair, she could have said something under her breath and Eren probably would have heard it. Freaky senses like his were honestly an unfair advantage, ugh.) The freckled girl also waved for Reiner to come over, evidently forming some kind of plan in her head. Levi was tempted to go over there and listen in out of curiosity, but he was too engrossed in watching Annie’s clouds try and zap Bertolt, who kept throwing up some sort of shields to stop them.

Not even two minutes after they started huddling, Flower Boy pulled up a clump of soil from the ground. He concentrated on it for a few moments, right before sprouting some sort of stalky plant out of it. Eren watched him intently, eyes still shining like an incredibly expensive jewelry store, and gasped once the buds started flowering into a multi-petaled, purple fluffball of a flower. Levi recognized it as a…carnation? Canary? Whatever, it was one of the plants he’d considered getting Eren for his birthday, except the store hadn’t had them in purple.

Once it finished flowering, Reiner offered the plant to Eren, who gingerly pulled a few of the stems off of the main plant, mouth tightening into a small “o” when he watched them disconnect. Ymir asked him something and he nodded aggressively, putting the flowers he was holding on the girl’s rock so that he could start…well, it looked like he was braiding them into a crown, but it was different from the simple chains that he’d made before. Meanwhile, Flower Boy gently put his new C-name-plants into the ground, patting the soil back into place. That would be fun to explain, if anyone ever found random bushes of bright purple flowers in the middle of a relatively boring woodsy area. 

Eren held up his crown proudly once it was completed, but it still looked somewhat lopsided and haphazard. He seemed kind of disappointed in his work as he listened to Ms. Emo gesture at it, attempting to show him something that he was really trying to understand. Levi didn’t think he’d ever seen Eren earnestly try to comprehend anything like he was now. He looked back and forth between his crown and the plant it had come from every few seconds, clearly making a connection that was invisible to everyone else.

Slowly, after a lot of glancing and mumbling, the brunette held one hand above the crown he’d made, sticking his tongue out in concentration. Tiny, practically invisible threads extended from his fingers, glowing the same green-gold as his eyes as it connected with the flowers. They wrapped around and through the circular braid, weaving between the stems like they were some sort of lattice. With them came even more purple blossoms, either growing from where the other ones ended or sprouting between where the flower heads separated. Suddenly, the crown no longer looked like it was going to fall apart with the wrong move. It was now woven together in a way that probably would have been impossible through just braiding.

“Hey, I got it!!” he grinned, turning to show it off to the other two people, who briefly paused their arguing to look at him.

“You…made a flower crown?” Annie asked, clouds calming down a little.

“Yes, but more _importantly_ , Queenie, he got a growth spell workin’.” Ymir sighed and laid back on her rock, as if the conversation exhausted her. “I mean, is it really so hard for you icicle brains t’ understand that he doesn’t operate like those stuffy n’ uptight Winter druids that ya Court is turning everyone with a lick of magical ability into?”

Annie scoffed. “What, because I just _scream_ ‘stuffy and uptight’?”

“Eh, you’re a Faerie, doesn’t count. Besides, you ran ‘way, didn’t’cha? Means you’re separate from most of Winter right now, so they’re not really _your_ Court.”

“Don’t call us that, hothead! And I might not be _in_ the Tír at the moment, but _I_ still have a job to do. Sometimes. Oh, and don’t come at _me_ for avoiding responsibility when I’ve heard how many times _you_ declined becoming the Summer Knight, _Fritz._ ”

Ymir’s expression darkened considerably, and Levi was half convinced she was literally going to punch the blonde girl. “Don’t. Ever. Call. Me. That.”

Surprisingly, the Lady seemed caught off guard by the harshness in the other’s words, before smoothing her facial expression back to a blank and emotionless slate. After a few seconds of tense glaring, Ymir did the same, though her resting face was more of a feline half-smirk. (What was it with all these freaky magic people and looking like cats?! Was it a side effect of not being fully human?)

“Hey, Eren!!” Beanpole cut in, with a little more enthusiasm than strictly necessary, “Do you mind if I take a look at your flower crown? I want to get a feel for your… style, I guess.”

Eren nodded and passed him the woven circlet, before excitedly bouncing over to Levi, evidently relishing in the fact he got to show off again. “Did you see that, Levi? I got the flowers to grow out of nothing!!”

“Not bad, brat, but I think you’re gonna need to know more than just growing plants to do what they want you to do.”

“Ok, yeah, true. What should I learn next, then?”

“Well, what do you want to learn?”

“Hmmmm…” Eren frowned for a few seconds, hands idly messing with his sleeve cuffs. Had they been unbuttoned this entire time?! Levi sighed and instinctively reached for them, fastening them properly while Eren gave him the dopiest fucking smile he’d ever seen. “Is there a way to do _that_ with magic? That should be my next step! So much easier than trying to hold such tiny things.”

“Only you would try and make something easy unnecessarily complicated, Birdbrain,” Levi muttered, rolling his eyes. Fondly, of course, if there was a way to do such a thing.

Eren laughed and the captain felt it ghost across his face, along with the threat of a slight blush. Had they been that close this whole time?! They were barely 30 centimeters apart! Eren’s (fascinating, beautiful, absolutely mesmerizing) gold eyes were practically on top of his! Not that he minded, but they were in fucking public, for Walls’ sakes. Then again, he couldn’t physically bring himself to push the brunette away, so... 

“Your… your eyes are still……” He trailed off, feeling something start to tug his at his consciousness. It felt like it was trying to pull him into those swirling pools of gilded emeralds, and he was perfectly content to just—

“No!! Stop! You do not want to do that!!! Both of you close your eyes or look away right now or I _will_ bind them shut!”

The voice was slightly tinted with that weirdly posh Interior accent, which was the only indication of who was behind it. Levi felt the urge to do what Annie said, but he somehow couldn’t force his eyes to break contact with Eren’s.

Fortunately, somebody marched up behind the shapeshifter and wrapped their hands around the front of his head, cutting off his gravity well gaze. They dragged him backwards, despite his flailing efforts to grab onto Levi’s shirt, and pulled him to a much further distance before releasing him. Bertolt sighed and shook his head, ignoring Eren’s half-glare as he muttered to himself.

“What were you thinking, trying to start a Soul Gaze like that?!” he groaned, gently slapping the shorter boy upside the head, “You can’t just go around making eye contact with True Sight on! Do you _want_ to be mentally scarred forever?! That stuff does not erase or fade over time, I can tell you that from _experience._ ”

“I didn’t know!! It was an accident! It just…happened.”

“Listen, Eren, I speak for everyone when I say please be more careful in the future. You don’t want to accidentally take someone’s head off because you got distracted in the middle of a spell.”

“You can do that?!”

“Ok, probablyyyyyy not, but still!! Stop being so reckless!”

Eren grinned and nodded, clearly having no intention of doing so any time soon. Well, looked like Levi would be watching over his dumb ass forever, then. A shame, really. Suuuuuch a horrible fate, what- _ever_ would Levi do?

“Guys,” Reiner called, speaking up for the first time in a while, “I hate to interrupt, but it’s been almost an hour since the sleep bind was broken. They’re gonna start worrying if we’re not back soon.”

Oh, yeah, that was…a thing. Walls, Levi had enough trouble keeping track of one life and reality, two was going to be a fucking nightmare. Not only did he have an extra brat to babysit, three of the other ones could do some very questionable things without anyone even knowing. How many times had they knocked people out like that? Levi would never be able to sleep in again. Not like he did so often, but now if he did, his first thought would be that he was having his free will taken away. That was decidedly a terrifying and horrible thought.

Pulling himself out of the odd path his brain had decided to go down, the captain peered up at the sun, which he could somewhat make out through the forest’s canopy. Sure enough, it was steadily creeping above the 10-ish spot, burning off the April haze with due diligence. Looked like it was going to be another sunny day, apparently.

“I’m guessing I should port back, then? I doubt anyone will really notice or care that I’m missing, but…” Ice Queen shrugged, cutting herself off.

“Oh don’t _even_ pull that, Annie,” Bertolt sighed, “For someone who can’t lie, you are very good at acting. Still doesn’t work on me though, but nice try.”

Flower boy nodded, joining his friend in the make-fun-of-Annie gang. “Yeah, we all know you’re just scared to talk to _Mikasa_ again. Get over it; the others would love to see you!! We can say it’s a surprise visit, and that Ymir left to get you.”

Apparently, Ymir didn’t want to miss out on the bullying action, because she got up from her rock to stand by the other two, arms around their shoulders as she grinned at the glaring Lady. “Don’t you wanna stay and teach Rennie how to be a good little soldier? I’m sure you can send a letter to the Military Police. You’re gettin’ the same ‘mount of work done!”

Annie looked like she very much wanted to open up another swirly-thing and dive into it, but Bertolt grinned and put the last proverbial nail in her coffin with one emotionally charged sentence.

“Come on Annie, stay as our _guest_!”

Levi was convinced she was going to tell them to fuck off, but her clouds rumbled with something almost...warning. The purple wisp-thing atop her head flared brightly until she finally relented, sighing. Another possible freaky magic rule for Levi’s slowly growing list? ‘ _Something about inviting people to be guests. Fuck if I know why though._ ’

“You _fuckers_!” Annie gasped, putting her hand dramatically over her heart, “That’s so... what was it? Mean? You’re the ones who are supposed to be nice!”

Ymir blew her a snarky kiss and started walking off in the general direction of the barracks. “Payback’s a bitch, Queenie!! Come on now, let’s go make the humans happy.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Levi didn’t really know what he’d been expecting when he opened the heavy doors that led into the stone building, but the clattering of footsteps and the following blur of black and red certainly wasn’t it. He barely had time to register that Murder Scarf was _not_ going for his fucking throat before he had a knee halfway to her ribs, planning on kicking her halfway to Wall Sina. Some vague piece of his suddenly defense-focused brain registered that Clara was begging to be physically up as she buzzed protectively in his head. (Oh, so _now_ she decided to show up?! Not when Eren might have been dying, but when Levi was getting non-fatally lunged at? Fucking bullshit, honestly.)

Before he could stop himself, his knee connected with Mikasa’s side, sending her tumbling to the floor in a wheezing, limb-tangled mess. She gave him the finger and kept coughing on the ground, ignoring Eren’s frantic attempts to help her. Probably a matter of pride, but a stupid one at that.

“Maybe don’t charge at me full speed next time, idiot,” Levi muttered, as if it were perfectly obvious.

Mikasa coughed some more but eventually managed to wheeze out, “Maybe don’t kidnap my fucking brother next time, _idiot._ ”

“If you can throw sass, I think you’ll live. Besides, I didn’t kidnap him, we took a walk because you lot were coming down from your party highs or whatever. You’ll ne—”

Levi was cut off by another blur of motion, this time blonde and vey obviously not aimed at him. He hadn’t even noticed the others come down the hall —too busy berating his somehow-relative for that— so it caught him a little bit off guard when Christa came sprinting down the corridor and tackled Ymir to the floor. Well, she _would_ have tackled her to the floor, except she was too light to do anything but make the freckled girl stumble a bit. 

“Where were you?!” she shouted, “Don’t leave like that ever again! You scared me!!”

Ymir’s face softened considerably, and Levi almost rolled his eyes at the sheer affection in her gaze. “Sorry, Sapphire. I had someone t’ go get…”

Sapphire?! _Sapphire_?!? What kind of pet name, sappy ass—

Wait, fuck. Levi couldn’t even shit on either of them. As much as an insult that “Birdbrain” may have been, he’d be fucking lying if he claimed to have never thought of it as an endearing nickname. Besides, he’d tackled his own bright-eyed brat when he finally got to see him, not even a week ago! Damn Eren, going and making Levi a hypocrite when it came to scoffing at tooth-rotting levels of sugary adoration.

“Annie!!!” someone yelled, pulling Levi out of his internal conflict. A glance down the hall revealed it to be Ponytail, walking at a much more reasonable pace than her friends had. “Wha- Where- Ahhh, I’m just so excited! How have you been??”

A flicker of a smile passed over the blonde girl’s face, before she quickly smoothed it back to the half-bored expression she seemed to use as a mask. “Heya, Sash. I’m fine, just got bored. Wanted to see how you suicidal idiots were doing.”

Levi noted that her storm clouds were missing, though he swore that he could still see spontaneous puffs of wind blowing her almost white hair around. Perhaps one of the veil things? Or were they wisps that could be summoned and hidden, like Clara? Ugh, so many questions. He was going to turn into Four-Eyes if he wasn’t careful.

Christa finally pulled back from where she was ineffectually crushing her “best” friend. “Oh!! Annie! It’s good to see you!”

“Likewise, Christa. Is this where you all live now?”

Somehow, Mikasa managed to practically jump to her feet so that she could level Ice Queen with the patented Ackermann glare. Levi realized that seeing it coming from someone other than himself or, eugh, his _uncle_ , was more than a little bizarre. What the fuck had the Lady done to make Murder-Scarf so fucking pissed at her? It wasn’t like she was aware of Eren’s existence or connection before today —at least as far as Levi knew, anyways— so it wasn’t like his situation, where all he had to do was look at Eren and he had someone at his throat.

“It is, not that you should care, asshole,” the shorter girl hissed, arms crossing over her chest. Damn, that was her extra pissy stance. The fuck kind of drama did these two have between them?

“Heyyyyy, Mika.” Annie grimaced, which was the most regretful emotion Levi had seen on her face yet. “I would say I’m sorry, but…”

“But that would be a lie! And we all know the good Annie Leonhart doesn’t lie,” Mikasa mocked, still glaring. There was a spiteful venom in her voice like Levi had never heard before, not even towards him.

Eventually, after a long moment of tense staring, the scarfed girl managed to grit out, “Just— come in already. The others would _love_ to see you. _I_ can sacrifice my personal happiness for other human beings, _unlike someone else I know_. If you want to properly apologize, I’ll be getting rid of this massive fucking headache I have by hacking at some dummies. Be glad it’s not you.”

With that, Murder-Scarf huffed and turned on her heel, walking back into the hall with more force in her steps than necessary. 

Levi turned to the girl she’d just walked away from. “Do I want to know?”

“You really don’t,” she sighed, “Longgggg story. Anyways, I’m probably getting a sunburn right now. Let’s go in?” 

Annie didn’t wait for a reply; she just started waltzing towards the door as if nothing had happened. Levi looked from her to the other Winter brats, who shook their heads aggressively. Touchy subject, apparently.

The others followed Annie inside at varying paces. Eren had grabbed onto Levi’s wrist and was practically dragging him through the hall, probably eager to check on his friends. To be fair, his sister had just complained of a headache, so maybe the involuntary unconsciousness had given people some bad side effects. Oh Walls, if Levi had to deal with another loopy brat, he was just going to tell Ice Queen to zap them on purpose.

Once they were in the main room with everyone else though, it became quite clear that he shouldn’t have bothered. Neither should have Eren, actually. Everyone was too focused on catching up with their missing member to clue either of them into what was going on. Best Levi could figure, some sort of reckless, unrealistic ideology had led most of the (remaining) cadets from the 104th’s top trainees to become Scouts. Annie, for whatever reason, hadn’t, and everyone seemed to be pointedly avoiding talking about why. Levi grouped it in with the reason that Mikasa had been so murderous, though he was fairly positive he was missing a _lot_ of that particular story.

Eventually, Eren got bored with trying to understand all of the in-jokes and reminiscent stories. Levi noticed the frown on his face almost immediately, and had cautiously tugged him towards the door, posing a silent question. At the brunette’s nod, he quietly started walking with him back into the hallway. It wasn’t like anyone was going to notice they were gone.

A larger part of him than he’d have liked to admit was annoyed with the other brats for not paying attention to Eren at all. His birthday wasn’t even 24 hours ago, and they had already moved on to a new person to celebrate? Logically, it made sense, but Levi was continuing to notice a concerning trend of being stupidly irrational when it came to things like getting Eren to smile, or the damned jealousy bouts that just would not leave him alone.

“You did great today,” Eren said, gently pulling Levi onto their shared bed.

“Shouldn’t that be my line? I’m not the one who was spontaneously growing flowers out of thin air.”

The shifter laughed, and Levi felt something warm and content spread through his chest. “Yeah, true. But you did other things!! Like, you didn’t listen to me when I was all messed up from the sleep bind. Good choice, by the way! And I think you took the whole magic thing a lot better than I did. So, yeah. Good job!!”

“It’s…not the first time I’ve had to deal with the ‘magic thing’.” Levi sighed and leaned back against the headboard, allowing Eren to lean into his chest. “First time I actually saw it happen in real life, though.”

“Really?! What happened before?”

“Well, you got that An- Storm Brat is the ‘Winter Lady’ or whatever, right?”

“…Sort of?”

“Right, well the Summer one is… a lot to handle, in a different way. They— I don’t really know what they did exactly, but I keep having these…dreams, where they show up and talk to me. They said to call them Lady Sidhe and they look like if a burning tree somehow managed to gain sentience. I’d advise against saying your name to them; they almost drowned me when I tried. Or I guess it’s not _me_ , exactly? I don’t know, all of this is really fucking weird.”

Eren laughed again, then fell silent so that he could process what Levi had told him.

“Am I… weird?” he asked, voice suddenly very quiet. He almost sounded afraid to ask in the first place.

Levi hummed and wrapped his arms around Eren’s waist, pulling him closer against his chest in an attempt at comfort. “You’re seventy different flavors of weird, Birdbrain, but it’s… my kind of weird. Actually it’s your kind of weird, I guess, but I don’t mind it.”

“Oh.” Eren paused and tilted his head back, wriggling slightly so that he faced Levi a bit better. “So I’m _your type_ of weird, huh?”

Levi sighed and rolled his eyes, though he hoped it didn’t seem like a genuine gesture of annoyance. “Apparently, yes.”

“We might even shorten it one step further and say that I’m just your _type_.”

Y’know what? He’d fucking walked into that one. Damn Eren and his distracting…everything.

“Cocky brat.”

“Ah, but _your type_ of cocky brat!”

“Shut up.”

Grinning, Eren moved around a bit more, now fully facing the slightly flushed captain. His brilliant (and thankfully no longer gold) eyes darted to Levi’s lips, already pushing himself forwards. “If I’m gonna be cocky, then may I do this?”

It… _damn_. Holy shit. Where did the shy and awkward dumbass from last night go? And, as much as it was probably polite and nice of him to ask for permission, Levi was an impatient bastard.

“You don’t even have to ask.”

With that, Eren leaned forwards the extra few centimeters, turning his head slightly so that they didn’t go crashing into each other. Levi responded in kind, bringing his hands up to tangle in Eren’s hair as the brunette gently slotted their lips together. Somehow, he was already getting good at this, even after only 3 kisses. Maybe that’s where all his brainpower was going, instead of into listening when he was being lectured on magic stuff.

Once again, this kiss was…different. It was hard to describe, but when Eren’s tongue swiped experimentally over Levi’s lips, he knew he wanted more of that specific sensation; more of the sparky, crackling feeling spreading through his veins. It felt like fire pumping directly out of his heart, and by the _Walls_ did he love it.

Moving purely on instinct, he tilted Eren’s head back further and dragged his teeth along the shifter’s lower lip. Eren practically melted against him, fingers gently scratching against his undercut. Levi took that as a go ahead, and did it again, but this time he caught Eren’s lip between his teeth, tongue flicking over the captured skin. It earned him a pleased hum, which vibrated nicely between them. Oh, that was fucking fantastic, holy shit.

Without warning, Eren moved closer, using his legs to wrap around Levi’s midsection. The new seating arrangements, which involved Eren literally sitting on Levi’s lap, managed to make the brunette taller than him, so that _Levi_ was now the one with his head tilted back. For someone who hated feeling short, he sure was enjoying that an awful lot.

“This okay?”

Levi didn’t respond; he just hummed and pulled Eren closer, hands sliding down to cradle his neck instead of curl in his hair. The shapeshifter grinned against his lips, only to have his satisfied smirking effectively cut off when Levi swiped his tongue over the other's lips insistently. Eren’s entire posture changed to something pliant and wanting, inviting the other in with a parted mouth and the smallest of whines.

Obviously, Levi very much wanted to do as Eren asked, but a very loud and grating meow sounded from the foot of the bed, making both of them flinch in surprise.

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” he muttered, being hit with more than a little bit of disappointment and jealousy when Eren gently pulled away to go check on the rude, fuzzy, and apparently very vocal interruption.

“Don’t worry léannan,” Eren laughed, kneeling beside the cat. It was purring and nuzzling into his hand, unfairly taking all of the shifter’s attention away from Levi. “I’ll be right back, I promise.”

The captain sighed dramatically, flopping back against the bed. “And just like that, the moment is gone. Remind me again why this cat is a good idea?”

“Becauseeeeee,” Eren whined and picked up the fluffball of an animal, gently cradling it against his chest as he sat in front of Levi once again, “Look at her!! She’s so cute! Yes you are, you little jellybean. So cute and tiny, uh-huhhhhh. Levi’s just a meanie, but you’re veryyyy sweet, I promise.”

“ _Little jellybean_? Really?”

“We haven’t named her yet! I’ve got to call her something…”

“How about ‘loud and tiny interruption?’”

Eren smirked and looked up at him, viridian eyes sparkling. “Is someone jealousssss?”

“No,” Levi lied, trying to convince himself more than Eren. “It’s a literal fuckin’ baby animal, there is no reason to be jealous of such a thing. I’m fine, idiot.”

“Uh-huh, because I totallyyyyy believe that.”

“I’m. Not. Jealous. Birdbrain.”

“Well then I’m sure you won’t mind if I go back downstairs to get her food right now, huh?” The brunette grinned, already knowing the answer. “And it definitely won’t affect you in any way if I spend the rest of the day ignoring you by talking to Annie and everyone else, rightttt?”

“That’s not fair, you ass!”

Damn it, Levi was trying so fucking hard. The irked twitch of a disappointed frown gave him away, though, and set Eren off on his giggling. Levi glared at him, now fully scowling, halfheartedly thinking of ways he could prevent his selkie from doing such things.

Well. That one was new. Now Levi kind of felt like the asshole here, being all possessive and controlling like that. Another thing to repress and mull over late at night.

“Relax, leánnan, I would never.” Eren smiled, pulling the captain out of his rather…interesting train of thought. “We already made a deal last night that you’re mine for today.”

“Yeah, because that worked out so well.”

“True, true. I still get you for the rest of the day, though!”

“And here I thought the cat had first priority…”

Eren laughed and stood up, before leaning over to give Levi a painfully brief peck on his still kiss-swollen lips. “I think there’s enough room in my heart for the both of you. Now, stay put, I’ll be back soon. Don’t get too lonely without me!!”

“Sappy brat,” Levi muttered, watching Eren walk out the door with a kitten in tow. Bit hypocritical though, because he was prone to the more-than-occasional bout of becoming an infatuated pile of mush whenever the emerald-eyed idiot so much as smiled at him. Not that Eren (or anyone, for that matter) ever needed to know that Levi had briefly considered going to the local library and trying to find a manual on love, or some shit like that. If such a thing existed, it would probably be the only book Levi would actively seek out and read. Oh, the shit he’d do (and actively _did_ ) for Eren.

As much as the whole “don’t get too lonely” thing had been a joke, Levi had to admit that there was a slightly hollow ache that spread through his limbs after Eren had walked out of the room. Yeah, apparently he had —what had Hange called it yesterday, while they were hiding in a wardrobe somewhere? Separation anxiety? Whatever, that was definitely a thing he was going to have to deal with now, at least where Eren was concerned. He had good reason for it, at least. Considering the kidnapping and subsequent trial, he had a perfectly valid reason for wanting to keep the brunette close enough to keep an eye on. And hey, if he got more of those fucking fantastic kisses out of it, he most certainly wasn’t going to complain.

A rather large part of him wanted to track Eren and the cat down, if only to drag them both back to the room and never allow the shapeshifter to leave him again. Ugh, he felt so _clingy_ and _attached_ just thinking about it, but he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t seriously considered the idea. It just……… _fuck_! Y’know?

Ooh, yikes. Emotions were fucking hard.

Levi knew one thing though, and that was the fact he wanted Eren back and curled up with him again as soon as possible. He wasn’t even going to deny how much that sounded like something a lovestruck fool would say, considering the fact that he was unfortunately both of those things.

A tiny voice wormed its way into his head, saying that maybe Eren didn’t _want_ to be with him; that maybe he was just doing it out of some weird sense of obligation. Worse, what if it was all an elaborate prank, and the next time they kissed Eren would yell “Gotcha!!” and laugh at him? Obviously, he’d never do that —that much he’d made quite clear when he flat out told Levi he loved him— but still… what if? Those two words were the bane of Levi’s existence, honestly. He shouldn’t have even been doubting Eren in the first place! Last night had been crystal fucking clear in terms of their overall intentions, and he knew that he could just fucking ask the shifter himself how he felt, though Levi already knew. He repeated the fucking words in his head over and over again, forcing himself to come to terms with something that shouldn’t have been that difficult to grasp.

Eren loved him.

And Levi… felt the same?

No!! Walls fucking damn it! Why was it so easy to admit those three fucking words when Eren was locked up in a dungeon, and not when he was actually with him?!

He had to do this. As much as it terrified him, he had to consciously _acknowledge_ his fucking feelings for once, instead of bottling them up and stashing them in a nearly overflowing section of his brain. (Or heart. Whatever it qualified as.)

He. Loved. Eren. Back.

There!! That wasn’t so hard, was it? Next step, saying it to Eren’s face, instead of being a fucking dickhead coward about it. Shove the words out, drag them up from his heart, whatever he wanted to call it, as long as it worked. Eren _deserved_ to know that he was the best thing on the fucking planet; that he was _Levi’s_ ‘best thing on the fucking planet’. Fuck the fact that it was sappy as all hell, Levi absolutely _had_ to let him just how much he cared. Walls, he cared _so fucking much_.

Whilst he tried to get his stupid brain to be less emotionally constipated, there was a slight creak as the door opened, followed by Eren’s near silent footsteps. Levi whipped his head around to see the very subject of his internal crisis walk into the room, cradling the tiny grey kitten like it meant the whole world to him. The scene was so utterly and perfectly domestic, Levi’s heart literally hurt as he watched _his_ whole fucking world hold their adopted feline child.

“I’m back,” Eren whispered, gently setting the evidently sleeping cat into her box, “I guess she’s the type to get tired after eating.”

Levi didn’t reply, he just nodded adoringly and gestured for the brunette to come sit with him on the bed. As if he could sense that something was up, Eren complied, instinctively draping himself over Levi’s lap and lacing their fingers together on both hands. His head nestled into the crook of the captain’s neck so that he could press the softest of feather-light kisses onto the sensitive skin there. Sweet Maria, he was so gentle sometimes that it hurt.

“Is this okay?” Eren asked, “Are you okay?”

“Fine, mon amour. Just…want to be here. _Avec toi_. With you.”

He felt Eren’s breath catch, followed by the ghost of a laugh against his skin. “That’s a pretty language, I love it. What does it mean?”

“It’s called French, and I already said it. ‘ _With you_ ’, avec toi. You don’t get to know the other one until you tell me what leánnan means.” 

“Heh, fair.” The shifter paused, incredibly warm skin still slowly heating Levi’s own. It felt wonderful. “Will you use it more? I like hearing how well it fits your voice.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, it’s so…smooth. Very pretty.”

“Mm, well then.” Levi let his cheek rest on top of Eren’s hair. He could regret being all touchy-feely later; this moment was enough for him. “Tu es mon cœur, ma lune, et mes étoiles. Je t'aimerai pour l'éternité, si je peux. Ne me quitte plus jamais, s’il te plaît, je ne peux pas te perdre. Je t’aime, Eren.” 

_You are my heart, my moon, and my stars. I’ll love you for an eternity, if I can. Don’t leave me ever again, please, I can’t lose you. I love you, Eren._

Well. Apparently if he couldn’t do it in one language, the other worked perfectly fine for generating things like…that. It was so cheesy and absolutely _adoring_ , but by the fucking _Walls_ did he mean all of it.

“Calling me a brat, I’m guessing?”

“Nope,” he whispered, genuinely welcoming the warmth in his chest for the first time, “Far from it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pronunciation guide:
> 
> _teaghráin draíochta_ \- (tie-rohn dree-it-ta) is Google Translated to "Strings/threads of magic" Not so sure about the second word, because Teanglann only had the unconjugated version, without the last "a". I figured that it was pronounced relatively the same way, just with that extra syllable at the end. Annie explained them as threads that tie the universe together, "like a tapestry". I'll go into more detail about them as Eren gets a handle on how to be a druid! 
> 
> Take a wild guess as to why Annie was interested in the one between Bert and Rei,,,,,, ^u^

**Author's Note:**

> wow im shook i managed to post this! hopefully all goes well in the future and i can get more chapters out soon-ish. Anyways criticism and stuff is super cool, just try not to be to harsh, eh? Call me Hans Christian Anderson because i'll cry in the dirt if shit happens.  
> Coolio and thanks for reading, have a great day/night/whatever! ~MatchstiQs


End file.
